A Zimbabwean cabinet minister said this week that the cost of repairing equipment at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings is about $US10 million. Information and Publicity minister, Webster Shamu told Parliament that the equipment was now obsolete and in dire need of a revamp.
“The transmitters have been in operation for about 34 years instead of eight, which has significantly affected transmission. The equipment needs to be revitalized due to old age. Almost all the transmitters in the country have outlived their lifespan and need to be revamped,” he said. “About US$4 million is required to revive the radio network while US$5million is required for our television network.”
Mr Shamu said he was hopeful the equipment will be revamped before the end of the year. ZBH has borne the brunt of a shortage of foreign currency over the years. This has seen it fail to either maintain or procure new infrastructure much to the detriment of broadcasting quality. Consequently, most rural areas and a number of urban areas, particularly in the southern region have over the years failed to access programming.
(Source: IT News Africa/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)