Community radio gets ready in exile

However, with the formation of a national unity government early last year, this was supposed to change. The airwaves should by now have been freed to accommodate various new players. Independent players are awaiting that day with bated breath. One radio station hopeful of getting a broadcasting licence when the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) finally calls for applications is Radio Mthwakazi.

This is a Johannesburg-based community radio station, formed early this year by a group of Diaspora-based Zimbabweans with roots in the countrys western region of Matabeleland. Its directors, all Zimbabweans, are based in the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe and South Africa. They are concerned about the erosion of the history, arts and culture of Matabeleland. According to its directors, the station aims to promote these and is in the process of registering in South Africa, where it has already started airing pre-recorded shows on the internet.

(Pictured: Radio Mthwakazi presenter – Adelaide Ndebele in the studio)

We want to register so that when BAZ finally calls for applications, we are found ready to explode, said the stations Global Director, Gerald Ngulube during an interview with The Zimbabwean in Johannesburg early this week. Radio Mthwakazi will broadcast on the internet until it is granted a license to broadcast in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. The stations broader aim is to have community radio stations in each town in Matabeleland, which will serve the interests of the population in their local languages. We are a community radio station that only seeks to address the cultural erosion that has been created by globalisation and the migration of people from Matabeleland to other countries, added Ngulube.

We also want to promote artists from this part of the region by featuring them on our shows, playing their music and dramas so that they do not continue to be the laughing stock of the community. We have a lot of untapped talent in Matabeleland and as people from that region, we do not want to continue complaining that government is not doing enough for us, when we have the means to assist government in developing our own region. Ngulube was quick to explain that his radio station would not delve into the politics of the country, but would engage all leaders in the region, be they political, traditional or administrative ones.

We are not interested in which party is ruling, but we will approach all parties with a stake in the region so that we find common ground and work together with them in developing our region. We will also feature the various leaders in our shows so that they explain some developmental issues affecting the region, but will make sure to keep politics out of our shows.

The station, funded by the members, has already set the ball rolling in South Africa, where it is organising regular shows featuring Zimbabwean artists from the Matabeleland region namely Ndolwane Super Sounds, Sandra Ndebele, Ndux Malax Junior and Gwambe Stars, among others.