Minister Christopher Mushohwe
Bongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
MINISTER of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Chris Mushohwe has said Bulawayo is critical in providing quality content for television as the country gears up for the digitalisation era. Minister Mushohwe said this on Friday after watching the play Ben 10 by Christopher Mlalazi in front of a full house at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.
He said Bulawayo was the home of quality television content productions.
“After watching the play it’s true that Bulawayo is the home of content. If we can’t get content from Bulawayo we can’t get content from any other place. When you see us priding ourselves of having the best content in the country we’ll be banking on you,” said Minister Mushohwe.
“We shouldn’t worry about Bollywood, Nollywood or Hollywood, we’ve our own Buluwood. We would like to see more of this and government through our ministry is going to support those who want to produce content.”
Mushohwe watched the play together with his deputy Thokozile Mathuthu, his permanent secretary George Charamba and directors in the ministry who were from touring transmission sites in Hwange, Binga and Lupane districts in Matabeleland North province.
The play directed by veteran actor-cum-director Memory Kumbota, explores a marriage setup between an old woman and a young man,” something which is unheard of in an African set up. Instead of the usual known Ben 10 casual affairs, the play focuses on a successful business woman in the township who falls in love and gets married to a young man.
Minister Mushohwe said the play brought memories of a similar encounter he had when he was in his early twenties.
“When I watched this play it took me back to when I was growing up and exactly what happened on stage is what happened between my friend Peter and the old woman called Noko, a sister in charge of a hospital. This is the type of content we need on our televisions that evokes memories of yesteryear experiences and resonate with the audience,” said Mushohwe.