Independent radio shows its mettle

When the Zimbabwe government refused to grant them a broadcasting licence, Radio Dialogue moved out of the studio and into the community in an innovative bid to reach the people.

Each weekend Radio Dialogue "road shows" perform live at shopping
centres in Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo, mixing music, drama and poetry with messages on human rights and community empowerment. The station also hands out tapes of its programmes to taxi drivers to play to their passengers.

"We are taking the station to the people," Jethro Mpofu, head of
Radio Dialogue, told IRIN. "We want to play a developmental and
democratisation role. We want to be a platform for the community where ideas around democracy can circulate freely."

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.

"It's clearly undemocratic. Licences are subject to approval by the minister [of state for information] and ZBC's monopoly has remained as a result of that," explained Takura Zhangazha of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). "Basically they are using it to stall any liberalisation of the air waves."

The regulations do not allow foreign funding for private broadcasters. Without that, "community radio is not able to exist", said Mpofu. "Bulawayo is economically and politically marginalised and we cannot afford to buy the equipment."

Zhangazha suggested that Radio Dialogue, which was set up last year, would not escape the government's attention for much longer. "Inevitably the government will clamp down on them," he told IRIN.

Another radio initiative in Zimbabwe is Voice of the People, aimed at a rural audience. The programmes are produced in Zimbabwe, but broadcast by Radio Netherlands on short wave back into the country.

Programme editor Ish Mafundikwa said the role of the station was: "An exercise in empowerment, especially for rural people as they don't have access to information. We are giving a voice to people who would never have a platform on ZBC."

Voice of the People broadcasts two-and-a-half hours each day in English and in Zimbabwe’s two main vernacular languages, Shona and Ndebele. The key to reaching its rural constituency is the use of short wave. FM signals do not extend beyond the cities.

Minister of State for Information Jonathan Moyo has accused Voice of the People of being a "pirate" station. However, some officials from the ruling ZANU-PF party have agreed to be interviewed.

"In a democratic country we would be a community radio station," said Mafundikwa. "We are doing social issues, some political stuff, voter education, the environment, consumer rights."

Instead, the station has been denied accreditation to cover this weekend’s presidential election, and has felt the "psychological"
pressure of Moyo's disapproval, Mafundikwa said.