News / Regional
Government to launch Tonga Radio Station
03 May 2012 at 07:55hrs | Views
THE government has announced it will launch a radio station for Binga in Matabeleland North.
The chief executive of the state-run Transmedia â€" which is in charge of the country's television and radio transmission infrastructure â€" said Wednesday that they were upgrading transmission facilities in Binga ahead of the launch of Tonga Radio Station.
"We stand guided by the wishes of the Binga community. If they want a community radio station, we are ready to provide them with training on how to produce their own local programming," Florence Siguduâ€"Matambo said.
She confirmed the radio was "the initiative of Information Minister Webster Shamu" after a recent visit to the district.
The launch of Tonga Radio Station has sparking outrage from privately-owned community radio stations still struggling to secure licences to operate.
Civic organisations said the move flew in the face of calls for the liberalisation of the country's airwaves which have long been dominated by the state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, which critics say is controlled by President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said the government had no business getting involved on community broadcasting.
"The government's role is to facilitate a conducive environment for communities to set up their own radio stations," MISA director, Nhlanhla Ngwenya, said.
Critics also said setting up a community radio station in Binga was a cynical campaign gimmick ahead of key general elections which President Mugabe insists must be held this year. But his rivals have made media reforms one of the pre-conditions for fresh elections, in a bid to break the dominance of a state-media apparatus accused of gross partisanship.
The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has since awarded two national radio licences and recently invited applications from community broadcasters.
The chief executive of the state-run Transmedia â€" which is in charge of the country's television and radio transmission infrastructure â€" said Wednesday that they were upgrading transmission facilities in Binga ahead of the launch of Tonga Radio Station.
"We stand guided by the wishes of the Binga community. If they want a community radio station, we are ready to provide them with training on how to produce their own local programming," Florence Siguduâ€"Matambo said.
She confirmed the radio was "the initiative of Information Minister Webster Shamu" after a recent visit to the district.
The launch of Tonga Radio Station has sparking outrage from privately-owned community radio stations still struggling to secure licences to operate.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said the government had no business getting involved on community broadcasting.
"The government's role is to facilitate a conducive environment for communities to set up their own radio stations," MISA director, Nhlanhla Ngwenya, said.
Critics also said setting up a community radio station in Binga was a cynical campaign gimmick ahead of key general elections which President Mugabe insists must be held this year. But his rivals have made media reforms one of the pre-conditions for fresh elections, in a bid to break the dominance of a state-media apparatus accused of gross partisanship.
The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has since awarded two national radio licences and recently invited applications from community broadcasters.
Source - radio
