Community Radio Stations widened listener choices

Mutare (New Ziana) -The establishment of community radio stations around the country revitalized local languages and provided citizens with more choices of content to listen to, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said on Monday.

In a speech read on her behalf by the Ministry chief director, Jonathan Gandari, she said the community radio stations had also opened up job opportunities for media graduates.

Mutsvangwa said this at a national media Indaba on the 2023 general elections organised by the Zimbabwe Media Commission.

“This has helped tremendously as people are now spoiled for choice. It has also bridged the information gap as well as the rural-urban divide,” she said, referring to the establishment of the radio stations in mainly marginal areas of the country.

She said more communities in outlying areas were approaching the government requesting licenses to set up community radio stations in their areas.

Turning to the forthcoming harmonised elections, Mutsvangwa said the government expected robust reports from the multiplicity of media outlets in the country.

She said there were 192 registered media houses in the country, 73 of which were very active.

There are also a number of international media organisations operating in the country with many more expected to come specifically to cover the August 23 polls.

“We expect our own local media to take its place and provide fair and accurate coverage of the elections,” she said.

But Mutsvangwa said the government expects the media to abide by the law and desist from writing articles that incited violence.

The media should also provide more coverage to female candidates than it has been doing so far, as women constitute a larger portion of the population.

“The media should remember that they are not contestants in the polls and avoid being emotionally involved,” she said.

Members from different media houses are meeting here to discuss ways of ensuring the forthcoming polls are held in a peaceful environment.

Previous elections in Zimbabwe have been characterized by violence, often instigated by the opposition to open grounds to dispute the outcome.
New Ziana