Harare, Zimbabwe | The Zimbabwe Newspapers Group (Zimpapers), the largest media organization in the country, has placed its Chief Executive Officer, Finance Director, and Marketing Executive on leave while awaiting the outcome of an audit, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Despite consistently reporting profits, Zimpapers—publishers of The Herald, The Sunday Mail, The Chronicle, and operators of Star FM and Typocrafters—has been grappling with financial difficulties. Salaries are frequently delayed, and the company has faced challenges in meeting its obligations.
One major setback has been the collapse of the organization’s pension fund, which led to the sale of company properties to compensate affected employees. However, the most significant challenges for Zimpapers include a sharp decline in newspaper circulation, currency instability, and diminishing advertising revenue.
Under pressure from the Ministry of Information, the Zimpapers board decided to send CEO Pikirayi Deketeke, Finance Director Farai Matanhire, and Marketing Executive Tapuwa Mandimutsira on leave as they prepare to exit the company.
The executives will remain on leave until their contracts expire—Deketeke’s in April, Matanhire’s in June, and Mandimutsira’s in August—avoiding costly severance payouts.
A source within the company revealed, “Zimpapers was heading for disaster. The situation was critical, and the board had to take decisive action. Dismissing the executives outright would have incurred substantial compensation costs, so this approach allows their contracts to run their course while keeping them away from operations.”
Veteran journalist and former senior editorial executive William Chikoto has been appointed as acting CEO. His primary task is to spearhead a digital transformation as the company repositions itself for the future.
Meanwhile, the board has commissioned an audit to investigate allegations of financial misconduct, particularly within the marketing department previously led by Mandimutsira.
Deketeke, who joined Zimpapers as an editor at The Herald, worked his way up through various roles, including Editor-in-Chief and Chief Operations Officer, before becoming CEO in 2014. He is credited with restructuring the organization into independent business units focused on printing, radio, television, and newspapers.
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