Govt to set up agri-focused community radio stations

Media activists in Zimbabwe have welcomed the government's plans to set up agri-focused community radio stations, but remain sceptical that the stations would be truly community-owned. Addressing a graduation ceremony of agriculture students at Esigodini Agricultural Institute south of Bulawayo last weekend, minister of information and publicity, Jonathan Moyo, announced that new community radio stations to produce and broadcast agricultural programmes and news in local languages would be established. Moyo did not disclose the number or locations of the stations, but said they were meant to further the goals of the fast-track land reform programme by becoming a source of agri-news and advice for farmers. The Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Zimbabwe) welcomed the move, but raised concerns over the stations' independence from government interference. "We welcome any moves to empower the communities through information. But the community radio stations being proposed by the minister are suspect, in that the communities do not seem to have been consulted about the choice of programming," MISA-Zimbabwe director Sarah Chiumbu told IRIN. "It is even more suspect because, according to the Broadcasting Services Act, it is the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) that should announce such plans, and make invitations for investors willing to provide such services. So far, the BAZ has not said anything, and we find it improper that the minister should usurp its role," Chiumbu added. During the past two years MISA has run a "free the airwaves" campaign calling for private and community-owned television and radio stations to be set up. There is not one licensed independent radio station in Zimbabwe. After the Supreme Court ruled against the legal monopoly of the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) in 2000, the government introduced new regulations that have effectively barred private and community radio. The government's latest announcement took many by surprise, as Moyo has been at the forefront of criticising the MISA campaign. Since the minister's statement, government-owned newspapers have been running unsigned adverts explaining the merits of community radio and calling for public involvement. Chiumbu said MISA's campaign would not end because of the apparent shift in the government's position. She noted that the country still did not have independent broadcasting stations. "The objective has not been achieved, so the struggle goes on. If anything, we need to increase the pressure now because the Broadcating Authority of Zimbabwe has not invited any applications for radio and television stations - two and a half years after it was set up. This country is still subjected to the monopoly of the ZBC in television and radio services," she said. Chiumbu dismissed the notion that the country's frequency spectrum was too limited, and alleged that authorities were using that arguement to restrict the number of players in the radio and television broadcasting industry. A number of applications for broadcasting licences have been made by various privately owned organisations, but none has been granted. IRIN was unable to reach Moyo for comment.