On Friday, the 23rd of October 2009, eight community radio initiatives in Zimbabwe will meet at a conference in Harare which will be held under the theme “Building and strengthening community radios for sustainable development.” The conference is aimed at coming up with strategies to solidify the campaigns and agitations for licensing of community radio stations. The conference will be followed by the Zimbabwe Association of Community Radios (ZACRAS) Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the 24th of October 2009.

^ Ready to broadcast. Inside a Radio Dialogue studio, Bulawayo.

Presenters will include dignitaries from the government, parliament, civil society and delegates from various communities countrywide. There are eight community radio initiatives throughout the country which are working with MISA-Zimbabwe namely; Kumakomo Community Radio Initiative (Mutare), Wezhira Radio Community Initiative (Masvingo), Radio Dialogue (Bulawayo), Radio Kwelaz (Kwekwe), Gweru Community Radio Initiative, Hwange Community Radio, Community Radio Harare (CORHA) and Jahunda Community Radio (Gwanda).

It is sad to note that the majority of these initiatives are ready to start broadcasting but have not been issued with requisite licenses since the enactment of the Broadcasting  Services Act (BSA) in 2001 which established the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) as the licensing and regulatory body in an environment in which the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) enjoys monopoly of the airwaves.

This is in serious breach of the African Charter on Broadcasting which stipulates: The legal framework for broadcasting should include a clear statement of the principles underpinning broadcast regulation, including promoting respect for freedom of expression, diversity and the free flow of information and ideas, as well as a three-tier system for broadcasting: public service, commercial and community.

It is against the background that the community radio movement in Zimbabwe intends to come up with new strategies that will unify the movement and its key stakeholders as part of efforts towards the opening up of air waves thereby empowering citizens to make informed decisions through alternative sources of information such as community radio stations.

- MISA Zimbabwe

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