8 community radio stations for Zimbabwe's rural areas

Bulawayo's own radio station, Radio Dialogue has indicated that it will continue to advocate for an operating license.

The statements come hard on the heels of an announcement by the Minister oi Information and Publicity that there shall be 8 'community radio stations' to be introduced in the rural areas.

In an exclusive interview with the Weekly Agenda, Kudzai Kwangwari, the Acting Director of Radio Dialogue said he differs with Shamu's ministry on the definition of a community radio station.

"Our understanding of a community radio station is that it is not supposed to be an extension of a public broadcaster. The introduction of these stations will just be a decentralization of ZANU PF propaganda because ZBC has over the years been reduced to a political party mouthpiece," he said.

Kwangwari added that the proposed radio stations are an attempt to silence advocates of a three-tier system of broadcasting. Under the system, Kwangwari said there is a national broadcaster, commercial and community broadcaster.

"The move is an attempt to silence organizations like the Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (ZACRAS) who want to see that system in place. It is also a political gimmick to silence SADC which has insisted on the implementation of the GPA which includes the licensing of community radio stations.

"We have written to the Ministry of Information and Publicity and the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) indicating that we need to see invites for the application of community radio licenses. Community radio stations are critical for accountability and they should be a priority alongside commercial radio stations" said Kwangwari.

According to Article XIX of the Global Political Agreement, ZANU PF and the two MDC formations agreed that they "shall ensure the immediate processing by the appropriate authorities of all applications for the re-registration and registration in terms of both the Broadcasting Services Act as well as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act."

With more than two years into the inclusive government, it is still not clear what is holding back the government from diversifying the broadcasting sector through the licensing of private players. Critics accuse ZANU PF for personalizing the airwaves.