adminLance Chigodo Sunday Leisure Reporter
THE Bulawayo home of arts and culture Amakhosi Cultural Centre will close for renovations with effect from this week to allow for the incorporation of a radio studio whose licence was granted by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) recently.
The cultural centre which was established in 1981 by Cont Mhlanga got a licence for a commercial radio station, Skyz Metro FM recently. The radio station which does not only mark the growth of Amakhosi but the growth of arts and culture sector in its entirety in the country as well as an era of opening of the airwaves is expected to be running by the end of the year.
Both interior and exterior renovations are to begin this week.
The renovations will lead to the disruption of a number of programmes and workshops that used to be conducted by the centre.
The chief executive officer of the radio Qhubani Moyo confirmed in an interview with Sunday Leisure that a diagram of the studio plan was already in place.
The whole area that has been formerly used as a bar, restaurant, kitchen, operations office, storerooms and church is going to be renovated such that the restaurant becomes the reception and marketing office and the rest of the rooms will be transformed into a studio.
Amakhosi centre already had a room that was designed to be a live on air studio room with sound proof walls which was being used as a storeroom and simply needs finishing touches.
“The establishment of Skyz Metro FM is in progress as we have paid $20 000 deposit of the $50 000 minimum required fee to secure our licence. We are also in the process of purchasing high quality studio equipment from an Italian company called DB Italy and we are aiming at covering a radius of 60km from Bulawayo with a minimum of 300 000 listeners within our first year of broadcasting and 1 million listeners in three years,” said Moyo.
Amakhosi Cultural Centre director Thembi Ngwabi well-known as Gogo was already in the process of clearing up the rooms last Thursday ahead of the renovations.
“We have currently stopped all the activities that used to be held at the centre, even the church that used to hold its services at the centre has to find a new venue,” Ngwabi said.
Amakhosi Cultural Centre founder Cont Mhlanga said the majority of the programmes that were scheduled between this week and August would be cut off until September or even change venues and further announcement or changes would be made depending on the shape and progress of the radio station.
“We were not prepared when we were issued with a broadcasting licence, it came as a surprise thus we have not secured venues for most of the programmes as we renovate this place into a radio station. Most of the programmes will be cancelled and rescheduled until maybe after renovations. The Amakhosi Arts Academy will have to end the semester early this time. We are still in the process of securing a venue for it to proceed for its second semester in September,” said Mhlanga.
He also said the annual Inxusa Festival and the World Theatre Day Colloquium which were also scheduled for 25 and 28 March will be postponed to next year. All bookings that were made between this week and August this year will be suspended until the renovations are complete but the recording studio will not be disrupted and scheduled recordings will not be interrupted.
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