Govt ShortWave Radio On The Cards, To Counter Foreign Based Stations
Reporting by the Herald
Harare)
The government now has funding for a short-wave radio station that will counter foreign –based independent media such as Voice of America’s Studio 7 and SW Radio Africa, said Acting Minister of Information and Publicity Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana said at a Parliamentary Portfolio Hearing on Transport and Communications.

Government, Mangwana said, had seen it fit to transfer the proposed New Ziana radio station that would be based in Gweru to ZBH.

He said funds had been availed for the shortwave radio station that
was meant to counter propaganda by hostile media organisations,
Studio 7 included, by telling the true Zimbabwean story.

There has been no change of Government policy in barring foreign
ownership of broadcasting licences in terms of the Broadcasting
Services Act, added Mangwana .

Mangwana told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport
and Communications that there appeared to be confusion on the
provisions of the Act pertaining to the restrictions on foreign funding.

The minister was presenting oral evidence on the state of the public media.
Mangwana said the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) had
made submissions to the Government in which it proposed some
amendments pertaining to the management of the Act.

"I told them (BAZ) that there was no change by the Government on
foreign ownership of licences. There has been some misunderstanding
in terms of the provisions on foreign funding," he said.
The Act, Mangwana said, prohibited foreign ownership of
broadcasting licences but did not restrict the borrowing of funds.

Mangwana said applications for private broadcasting licences that
had been lodged with BAZ in the past had been turned down because
they did not satisfy the provisions of the Act and this was mainly
due to ignorance on the part of the applicants.

Some applicants also did not disclose the source of funding as
stipulated in the Act. The minister said there was need for a public debate on the Act for a better understanding of its provisions.

Chairperson of the committee Leo Mugabe, who is Makonde lawmaker
(Zanu-PF), said the Act should be amended in order to create a
conducive environment as there were problems on its adjudication.

Mugabe said there was need for BAZ to advertise again for new
applications from prospective broadcasters.
In response, Mangwana said if Zimbabweans could invest in farming
and mining, they could also likewise invest in the broadcasting
sector without foreign funding.

He would liaise with BAZ on the issue of flighting advertisements
inviting broadcasting applicants.
Tsholotsho legislator Professor Jonathan Moyo said even if one were
to get a radio or television licence it would be impossible to
transmit due to the absence of transmitters.

Prof Moyo, who is the former Minister of Information and Publicity,
said it was prudent for private broadcasters to be allowed to provide
their own transmission equipment.

Mangwana said he would look into the issue of the possibility of
allowing private broadcasters to install their own transmitters.

Government, he said, had taken a number of steps in implementing
recommendations made by the committee in regard to the public media
and these included the restructuring of Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Holdings (ZBH) and New Ziana.

He said a new ZBH board was now in place while recruitment of the
group chief executive officer was underway.

Mangwana said ZBH was working towards digitalisation and
refurbishment of the four radio stations and negotiations on the
project with an Iran firm were at an advanced stage.

He assured the committee that there would be "minimum losses" of
employment resulting from the restructuring programme.

Turning to New Ziana, Mangwana said he would soon be announcing a
new board for the news agency.

He said the agency was strategic to the extent that it should
continue to receive Government grants until it was in a position to
sustain itself together with the Community Newspapers Group.
The minister also said the issue of Studio 7 broadcasting to Zimbabwe
from Botswana was being handled diplomatically through the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.

Commenting on the salaries of journalists, Cde Mangwana said there
was need for journalists to establish an employment council for the
media practitioners.

He said currently the collective bargaining process for journalists
was too fragmented and this was not healthy for the industry.

However, Cde Mangwana said, there had been an improvement in the
salaries of journalists at ZBH and New Ziana following the ministry's
intervention.

Harare Central lawmaker Mr Murisi Zwizwai (MDC) said despite the
review of the salaries, the remuneration for the media practitioners
was still inadequate.

"The salaries are still very low if one takes into consideration the
status they have in life. Even the dressing of those journalists who
are here do not reflect their proper image that they work for
reputable newspapers," he said.