By Sharon Chimenya
THE Government is committed to expanding radio and broadcasting coverage through the ZimDigital phase two, in line with its national vision of leaving no one and no place behind.
Speaking at a workshop in Masvingo recently, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere, said the implementation of the phase two was of great importance given that the current status for television and radio coverage stands at 38 percent and 62 percent respectively.
He also said that the ZimDigital phase two sought to ensure that the country achieved media sovereignty.
“Of fundamental importance is the implementation of the ZimDigital second phase, which is the most important deliverable that we should primarily focus on because current television coverage is 38 percent in term of geography and in terms of radio is at 62 percent.
“The full implementation and the co-ordination of activities and intervention within the media and broadcasting services ecosystem becomes a priority in terms of the strategic planning review workshop which is going to follow a clearly defined digital infrastructure master plan,” he said.
“The co-ordination between BAZ (Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe), Transmedia, which is the signal carrier, and the national broadcaster will be prioritised in order to ensure we achieve media sovereignty for our country.”
Dr Muswere said the second phase was going to be able to increase the geographical coverage in order to ensure that no one and no place was left behind.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Information, Media, and Broadcasting Services, Caston Matewu, said the committee had emphasised to Professor Mthuli Ncube, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, the need for sufficient funding for digitalisation in next year’s budget.
“We want money for digitalisation because our main concern as a committee as far as the ministry is concerned is digitalisation. That is our number one priority, so we have made it clear to him (Prof Ncube) that we want enough money for digitalisation,” he said.
New Ziana
