The Current Radio Scene in Zimbabwe

QSL via Gayle Van Horn Collection

           As you’ve probably heard, Zimbabwe’s long-time ruler Robert Mugabe resigned this past week as president of Zimbabwe.  This was after the country’s military forces put Mugabe under house arrest several days earlier.  One of the first acts of the military, as often happens during a coup, was to take over the state broadcaster, in this case ZBC, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.  It consists of four radio networks and a TV station.  The main radio station is Radio Zimbabwe, also known as Radio Zim.

It has been many years since ZBC broadcast on shortwave.  However, there is a shortwave broadcast going INTO Zimbabwe from a major international broadcaster.  That’s the Voice of America, with its special Zimbabwe Service.

The VOA’s program Studio 7 has been broadcasting to Zimbabwe since 2003, and it has become an important alternative source of news for many Zimbabweans.  The program covers politics, civil society, the economy, health, sports, music, the arts and other aspects of life in Zimbabwe.  The program is multilingual; in English, Shona and Ndebele.

            The VOA Zimbabwe Service appears to be on the air at 1700-2000 UTC daily, with possibly some variations on the weekend.  On the air, they are announcing the frequencies of 909 kHz mediumwave plus 4930, 6080, 13860, 15460 and 15580 kHz shortwave.  These frequencies may be on at different times.  

            We looked at frequency registrations, and 4930 kHz is registered to broadcast to the Zimbabwe area at 0300-0600 and 1400-2100 UTC daily.  That frequency comes from the VOA Botswana relay. The two shortwave channels 13860 and 15460 kHz are registered to be on from 1700-1900 UTC from the VOA site on Sao Tome island.  6080 is registered for 1700-1800 UTC from Sao Tome.  15580 kHz is registered from the VOA Kuwait site from 0300-0500, and from Botswana from 0500-0700 and 1400-2100 UTC.  Some of those transmissions are probably carrying other VOA programs besides VOA Zimbabwe.

The VOA Zimbabwe website, which is www.voazimbabwe.com, says listeners in the area of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, may experience jamming on 909 kHz AM.  That may have changed now.  The programming can also be heard on satellite and Internet.  We have noted that the times and frequencies on their website do not correspond exactly to the latest HFCC listings and to what they are announcing on air, so there may be some changes due to the recent dramatic events in the country.

(AWR-Waescan/NWS 457)

Zanu (PF) jamming on VOA Studio 7

Relentless jamming by President Robert Mugabe’s forces is depriving Zimbabweans of a wide array of free entertainment sources provided by foreign governments. Music and soccer have become the latest battlefronts, with talented musicians forced to sing praises of Mugabe while footballers play in tournaments named after him. But the latest deployment of Chinese-made jamming has forced even the VOA to acknowledge routinely in its Zimbabwe broadcasts that the waves are jammed. An announcer is now regularly heard to say: “This is Studio 7 for Zimbabwe broadcasting on 909 AM, but due to jamming your best reception would be on Shortwave…” Zanu (PF) made external broadcasts a major issue during the negotiations for a settlement in 2008, demanding that they be banned. Recently, the controversially-appointed Broadcasting Authority announced it was ready to take applications, which would be a first step for the so-called pirates to come home. None of the big players have taken up the offer, citing continued insecurity in the country and the sheer economics of setting up independent broadcasting in a collapsing economy. Surprisingly, Zanu (PF) officials are clamouring to be heard on the Voice of America Studio 7, which is virtually banned in Zimbabwe by Mugabe’s government. Recently, senior Zanu (PF) and pro-Mugabe officials Rugare Gumbo, Joram Gumbo, Mines Minister Obert Mpofu and Attorney General Johannes Tomana have freely given interviews to the ‘pirates’. (Source: The Zimbawean)

Zimbabwe legislators fume over broadcasting delays
MDC MPs in Zimbabwe have expressed outrage at the continued delays by the government in issuing broadcasting licences to private players at a time when President Robert Mugabe has tightened his grip on the state-run ZBC. Member of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications, Edward Msumbu (MDC-T, Norton) said he did not believe that Zanu (PF)’s previous paranoid fear of independent broadcasters was still the cause for the delay in the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) issuing licences. “It is accepted by the relevant authorities that licences should be given to broadcasters,” Mr Msumbu said in an interview. “We don’t know where the delay is. The broadcasters are assuring us that all the necessary equipment is there.” Radio VOP director John Masuku confirmed the position, saying the broadcasters were ready to start commercial FM stations any time. He lambasted BAZ for issuing a false statement saying they had opened up for applications. (Source: The Zimbabwean/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Zimbabwe gets vital news from VOA during crisis

Daily radio program 'Studio 7' broadcasts in English, Shona, and Ndebele

WASHINGTON, December 9, 2008 - The Voice of America (VOA) is providing Zimbabweans with vital information on health, politics and international developments during the crisis that led President Bush today to join those calling for the country's leader to step down.

"The VOA's Studio 7, broadcasting in English, Shona and Ndebele, has long played a critical role in informing the people of Zimbabwe about what is happening in their country," said VOA Executive Editor Steve Redisch. "The country's escalating crisis, and the worldwide attention to it, make accurate news and information more important than ever for Zimbabweans," he said.

In recent months, Studio 7, a daily radio program that has been on the air since 2003, has reported in detail on the humanitarian crisis that intensified as the death toll from a cholera epidemic climbed to over 600, largely as a result of a lack of water treatment and broken sewage pipes.

Several weeks ago, Studio 7 reported on the virtual closure of the state hospital system in Harare and other cities shortly before the cholera epidemic. In addition, Studio 7 has interviewed local health experts and international officials daily. Discussion segments allow listeners to voice concerns about the country, which has few basic commodities, soaring unemployment and sky-high inflation.

In recent days, Studio 7 brought listeners interviews with former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, both members of a delegation dispatched to Zimbabwe by the international organization of eminent persons known as the Elders. The group was barred from entering Zimbabwe by the government.

Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis - along with the refusal of President Robert Mugabe to adhere to a power-sharing agreement with designated Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai - has prompted a growing chorus of international figures to call for Mugabe to leave.

Studio 7 is funded through a grant from USAID to VOA.

The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts approximately 1,500 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 134 million people. Programs are produced in 45 languages.
(VOA)