CMO Disputes Come Under Parliamentary Scrutiny In Bulawayo

By Nothabo Wendy Sibanda | 3 September 2026

Parliament is pushing for improved relations between Zimbabwe’s music collecting organisations and artists amid concerns over disputes involving Collective Management Organisations, including Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (ZIMURA) and Zimbabwe Council of Copyrights (ZICCO).

The Portfolio Committee on Media, Information and Broadcasting Services held a public hearing at Amakhosi Theatre in Bulawayo recently, to gather concerns from musicians and other stakeholders.

Speaking during the public consultation meeting, Committee chairperson and Mangwe MP Vincent Sihlabo said Parliament is investigating whether the challenges stem from management, the structure of the organisations or weaknesses in oversight.

He stated that continued disputes and court cases indicate that changes may be needed to improve relations between Collective Management Organisations and artists.

“The committee in Parliament would like to achieve a harmonious working relationship between the collecting organisations and musicians. If you have noticed, there have been squabbles, with people taking each other to court, which shows that there is something wrong,” he said.

“We want to establish whether what is wrong is something to do with management failures, structural composition or monitoring,” said Sihlabo.

Meanwhile, musicians raised concerns over royalty collection and distribution, with artist Mzoe 7 questioning whether the current system is adequately serving musicians.