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Country's airwaves still restricted, says media lobby group
IRIN News
May 16, 2005

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47134

JOHANNESBURG - A pioneering community radio station in Zimbabwe has been refused a licence by the country's broadcasting authority, but Bulawayo-based Radio Dialogue has vowed to continue its work.

The station was established in Zimbabwe's second city in 2001 but, without a licence, Radio Dialogue has been unable to transmit its programming.

"What we do while we're waiting [for a licence] is make radio programmes and record them on cassette for minibus taxis to play: we call those taxi tunes. Each of the programmes focuses on a different theme, such as HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, religion and politics, and so on," said Radio Dialogue director Nigel Johnson.

Late last month the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) refused the station's application for a commercial licence, saying in a letter that "the invitation [for applications] was ... for a free-to-air broadcasting [licence]. [Radio Dialogue's] application does, not, therefore, conform to the licence for which the authority invited applications".

Even though it is a community station, Johnson explained that in desperation it had applied for the commercial licence.

"It's the first time they [BAZ] invited [applications] for anything - we felt we shouldn't just do nothing. We were hoping that if they were well-disposed and genuine, they would find some sort of way around [the fact that Radio Dialogue is a community station] ... at least start talking to us.

"We did this so at least they know we exist officially - they've known we exist unofficially - and we felt we had to take some action," he added.

Johnson said although the existence of community stations was provided for in law, "the problem is that there is legislation ... saying no licence can be issued to any organisation that is partly or wholly foreign funded, which we are, as we receive funding from international NGOs".

"You would find most community stations are [foreign funded], as to raise funds locally is nearly impossible," he added. "It's a major stumbling block to community stations."

Johnson vowed that "as long as we can, we'll continue what we're doing and try to pressure authorities to give us licences", and commented, "but until there is a fundamental change in policy I don't think they'll be issuing any licences" to community stations.

Nyasha Nyakunu of the Media Institute of Southern Africa's (MISA) Zimbabwe chapter, said his organisation would continue to "lobby and campaign for the amendment of the Broadcasting Services Act ... to look at clauses that inhibit new players from entering the broadcasting sector that is currently monopolised by Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, which is supposed to be the public broadcaster".

Some radio stations, such as 'Voice of the People' have managed to get around the restrictions by broadcasting programmes produced in Zimbabwe back into the country on Radio Netherlands.

"Their transmission signals are not based here," Nyakunu noted, "therefore they are not in breach of the Broadcasting Services Act."

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