Retrenchment of staff in Mmegi Group of Companies
Staff Writer | Wednesday October 18, 2017 13:53
The decision to retrench was taken as a last resort after the Board considered and tried, without success, everything else to improve the fortunes of their companies.
The retrenchment has been occasioned by the decline in revenue, which is evident across the media industry in the country in particular, and generally across the globe. While income has been declining costs have remained constant, at best, or increased, at worst. Over the last 12 months, MIH’s respective subsidiaries have taken steps to cut costs in various areas of their operations, but despite that, the situation has not improved to an acceptable level.
Needless to say, the pervasive nature of the internet, in particular, social media, has hit the traditional print media very hard. Both advertising and newspaper copy sales have drastically declined. Like other newspapers elsewhere, MIH publications are in a transition phase as they endeavour to adapt to a new environment dominated by digital platforms. Print media is forced to change and adapt by embracing digital media and harness it to regain lost ground and forge ahead. MIH intends to invest in developing its digital products so that they become a significant contributor to its income going forward. To that end with effect from January 1, 2018, the weekday issues of Mmegi will only be available online. The hard copy edition of Mmegi will revert to weekly, coming out on Friday only, as the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday issues will be discontinued. The Monitor will continue coming out on Monday.
The revamped daily online version will be enhanced with more content and updated more frequently, with new additional features. Our other digital platforms will also be spruced up both in terms of content and redesign going forward. Recently, the company invested P26m in a state-of-the-art printing equipment as part of the Group’s endeavour to diversify its income streams. We wish to reassure our readers and advertisers that the MIH is committed to contributing to the attainment of an “educated and informed nation”.
We also wish to reaffirm our resolve to speak truth to power, as well as hold public officials, business and civil society to account. As a company, we are very positive about the future of media in Botswana. Even as the MIH rationalises, it is positioning itself, from both an operational and strategic perspective, to consolidate its longstanding position as the flag-bearer of journalism in Botswana.