adminassurance from Sentech that it had declined to carry the Ist TV signal.
The station, a pirate broadcast bringing together Anglo-Saxon interests, was scheduled to launch at 6pm last night to feed into the MDC-T’s campaign ahead of the harmonised elections. The GPA, to which the MDC-T is a signatory along with Zanu-PF and the MDC explicitly abhors pirate broadcasts and in section 19.1(c) (i) ‘calls upon the governments hosting and/or funding external radio stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe to cease such hosting and funding’.
“When they failed to find space on the satellite they approached Sentech but it has refused to carry their signal,” Mr Muchechetere said.
In a letter to Mr Muchechetere, Sentech chief executive Dr Setumo Mohapi said his organisation was not working with “1st Tv/VOA. We completely distance ourselves”.
He said Sentech had not had any contact with any other broadcaster other than ZBC with regards to broadcasting in Zimbabwe. He said Sentech was still interested in fulfilling its deal with ZBC.
Mr Muchechetere said he had been in touch with Sentech since Thursday and had been receiving information to the effect that the company had declined to work with Ist TV/VOA. Government, on Wednesday, said it would engage GPA facilitator South African President Jacob Zuma in the wake of the intensification of pirate broadcasts into Zimbabwe that had sucked in Sentech.
Online Reporter