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MUTARE will soon have a local commercial radio station as the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe is conducting licence application public inquiries for potential applicants.Those who want to set up a radio station are given an opportunity to present their proposals to the BAZ commission and the public, after which BAZ will adjudicate and grant the licence to the best applicant.
Tuesday’s public inquiry in Mutare in which Zimpapers, which owns StarFM, presented its proposal to set up Diamond FM in the city gave the public an opportunity to shape the type of station they want.
After the company rolled out its plan and what it will do if granted the licence, members of the public were given an opportunity to question the Zimpapers delegation on how they were going to take on board the Mutare agenda.
In no uncertain terms, Mutare residents said they want a station that acts as a mirror to their day-to-day lives as a community. The ideal broadcaster, they said, must foster the cultural identity of various ethnic groups herein by way of safeguarding their culture from worst forms of cultural imperialism.
To effectively achieve this, they said if Zimpapers were to get the licence, the company must employ presenters and journalists from within who have a strong and sound cultural understanding of different people living around the city.They bemoaned the dying of local languages that are being threatened by European culture. Development-wise they said the commercial radio station must aid socio-economic development through promoting the sustainable exploitation of natural resources abundantly available in the city and beyond.
They also said the station must be the leading voice to ensure that Mutare benefits from resources that are mined here.
Zimpapers promised to take on board their concerns if granted the licence to open Diamond FM.
The company’s marketing director, Mr Tapiwa Mandimutsira, promised that the group will open the station within 10 months if granted the licence, and he based this on the 121-year-old rich history the group has with the community since the publication of its weekly newspaper The Manica Post in 1893.
Mutareans are more than happy to have their own radio station which they can identify themselves with.
It is in no doubt that with its instant message the radio station can be used to speedily revive dying industries in Mutare as well as promote good corporate governance.
The city will never be the same.
Online Reporter