Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa commissioned a new community radio station, Avuxeni FM, in Chiredzi recently, indicating that Zimbabwe is on track to a new exciting era in information access and dissemination under the Second Republic.
Zimbabwe has opened up the airwaves by granting licenses to community radio stations and commercial television businesses, delivering on the promise of improving citizens’ access to information.
Minister Mutsvangwa stated that community radio stations’ licensing aims to bridge the information divide between urban and rural areas.
Minister Mutsvangwa spoke in Chiredzi, where she initially launched Avuxeni FM, a community radio station, before presiding over World Radio Day commemorations at Tshovani Stadium.
Minister Mutsvangwa stated that President Mnangagwa’s administration fully supports media plurality, asserting that the country is on the verge of a new age in information dissemination and access.
Minister Mutsvangwa told the media after officially opening Avuxeni FM, where she toured the studio and briefly went on air to commemorate the occasion, that the Chiredzi-based community radio station was a sign of exciting times to come.
President Mnangagwa’s promise that “no place and no one should be left behind” as Zimbabwe moves toward an upper-middle-income economy by 2030 was fulfilled by opening community radio stations in distant parts of the country, she added.
“We are saying that information regarding disasters and other events in Zimbabwe should reach all parts of the country in real-time.”
“We will continue to devote more resources to improving transmission in rural areas so that all of our people have access to radio and television services,” said the minister.
According to Minister Mutsvangwa, community radios play an essential role in developing local languages and traditional values.
Community radio stations can also provide content for national broadcasting corporations by reporting on events that occur at the local level.
