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Radio silence in Zimbabwe: information  gap persists for rural communities

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BY EVIDENCE CHENJERAI

A few minutes before 7 PM on a chilly September evening, Violet Chisango fumbles with the small solar-powered radio she bought 15 years ago.

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After checking that the battery is full, she tunes in to Voice of America’s “Studio 7.”

She has waited all day for the local news on this pirate radio station, beamed 13,000 kilometres to her home in Zimbabwe’s southeastern Masvingo province via a shortwave frequency from the United States.

“‘Studio 7’ is reliable,” she says. “This is where I have been getting information on issues about coronavirus.”

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Without her trusty radio, she would not have learned that vaccines had become available — and gotten her shot last summer.

These evening broadcasts, on the only signal strong enough to reach her home, also keep her family informed about school closures and cyclone warnings; she shares whatever she hears with her neighbors, too.

Chisango is one of millions of Zimbabweans with limited access to news due to a combination of the government’s tight control over broadcasting licenses, inadequate communications and electrical infrastructure, and the high cost needed to amplify the few existing, distant signals.

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This information gap can be life-threatening for rural communities — home to two-thirds of the country’s 15 million people — left in the dark about Covid-19 and the spread of the new omicron variant, natural disasters and other threats.

In Chimanimani, a village in eastern Zimbabwe, Moses Muyambo missed Cyclone Idai broadcast alerts in March 2019 and badly injured his legs when floodwater swept him away.

Determined to keep residents safer in the future, community leaders have been working on plans for a local radio station, which was granted a license earlier this year, says Panganai Chirongera, a town councillor.

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In cities, Zimbabweans with disposable income and stable electricity can get news from a range of national TV and radio stations, satellite channels and internet services.

Satellite technology costs about US$100 for one household, with monthly subscription fees starting at US$$7.

The average urban household earns about US$172 a month, according to a December 2020 Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee report.

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In contrast, an April 2020 survey by the committee reported the average rural household earns just US$33 a month.

Access to information is a human right, one that has been denied to the majority of the country, says Noveti Muponora, a legislator for Mount Darwin North, a district 160 kilometers northeast of Harare.

“In my area, they are tuning to Mozambique radio stations or pirate radio stations,” he says, adding that he has continuously appealed to the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, which oversees the country’s airwaves, for the installation of boosters so that Mount Darwin residents can receive TV and radio signals.

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After maintaining tight control over radio and TV broadcasting rights since independence in 1980, Zimbabwe’s government has begun responding to the rising tide of local and global voices advocating for more accessible and affordable sources of news.

The Digital Terrestrial Television Project (known as ZimDigital), working to upgrade Zimbabwe’s broadcasting grid, is 40 percent complete with 18 of 48 TV transmitters updated and five of 25 radio transmitters installed, according to a May report compiled by the government and the United Nations.

The project began in 2015, based on recommendations from the International Telecommunication Union, a U.N. agency specialized in information technologies, and has been allocated US$7.6 million toward completion this year.

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While acknowledging that the project has taken longer than expected, the broadcasting authority’s acting chief executive officer Matthias Chakanyuka expresses confidence that the results will significantly improve information access for rural Zimbabweans.

“The poor reception due to old equipment is currently being addressed through the digitalization project,” he writes, in an email.

“However, the complete switchover is a gradual process.

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“Some areas which did not have television and radio reception have benefited from the digitalisation project.

“The government has made tremendous progress in providing funding towards the completion of the digitalization project.”

Even if broadcast signals could reach every household, however, not all Zimbabweans would be able to listen.

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Less than half of respondents to a 2019 household survey conducted by Unicef and Zimbabwe’s National Statistics Agency reported having a TV or radio in their home; less than one-third reported having internet access on any device.

The cost and scrutiny required for a broadcasting license also has a chilling effect on prospective news sources.

The broadcasting authority application fee for a national radio or TV station’s 10-year license costs US$2,500, followed by a US$7,500 public inquiry fee; the annual renewal fee costs US$15,000 for radio to US$18,000 for TV stations, respectively.

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“Diversity is needed especially during the global coronavirus pandemic, where communities need access to information in a manner they can understand,” says Patience Zirima, director of Media Monitors, an organization that identifies and analyses editorial and advertising trends.

In Zimbabwe, the government has a disproportionate amount of control over broadcasting licenses and station management, according to the 2021 Media Law Handbook for Southern Africa, published by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, a German political research foundation.

“International best practice requires that an independent regulatory authority license broadcasting services and associated frequencies,” the report says, noting that Zimbabwe is among countries that have laws “establishing a public or national broadcaster, but these do not operate as public broadcasters because the boards of all of them are appointed by members of the executive.”

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Critics like John Masuku, executive director of the pirate Radio VOP station based in Bulawayo, the country’s second-largest city, complain that licenses are granted more quickly to applicants with political connections and that rural communities remain underserved.

Still, they agree that the information gap has narrowed in the past decade.

Before 2012, Zimbabwe had only one licensed TV station and four radio stations, all operated by the state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.

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Today, the country has seven licensed TV stations and 36 radio stations, including six campus radio stations.

After two rejections, Masuku says that Radio VOP has opted to focus on using internet platforms, such as podcasts and social media, but he applauds the ongoing advocacy efforts of other stations and community leaders to expand the public airwaves.

“It took ages,” he says. “But we are happy that it has happened.” – Global Press Journal

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In the community

Zambia Limits Worship Time To Two Hours To Curb Cholera

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BY AFRICANEWS

Churches across Zambia have received a mandate to restrict worship sessions to a maximum of two hours.

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The directive, issued by Ndiwa Mutelo, a high-ranking official overseeing religious affairs, also prohibits the sale of perishable and ready-to-eat foods within church premises.

To further minimize the risk of disease transmission, worshippers are strongly advised to refrain from handshakes and hugs. In an official statement, Mr. Mutelo emphasized the importance of maintaining hygiene within worship centers.

Churches are now required to provide safe drinking water, designated hand washing points, and make available alcohol-based hand sanitizers to their congregants.

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The urgency of these measures is underscored by the significant cholera outbreak in Zambia, with more than 7,800 reported cases since last October. Over the past 24 hours alone, the health ministry has recorded over 400 new cases and 18 fatalities.

This latest intervention aims to mitigate the impact of the cholera epidemic, emphasizing the collective responsibility of religious institutions in safeguarding public health.

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SOURCE: AFRICANEWS

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Lubangwe villagers walk over 30KM to access nearest clinic

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BY LWANDLE MTHUNZI

Access to primary healthcare remains a major challenge to communities in Lubangwe resettlement area in Hwange where the nearest clinic is more than 30km away for some.

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Lubangwe Railway Farm 55 resettlement was established in 2000 during the country’s land reform when scores of villagers, mostly families of war veterans, were settled in the area.

Government did not construct schools and clinics and old farm buildings were converted into learning facilities.

While some schools are now available as a result, although far away from some villages, the communities remain with no health facility which makes access to health a major challenge.

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The worst affected are pregnant women and people living with chronic diseases such as HIV and TB who have to regularly get their monthly allocation of life saving tablets.

Edwin Nyoni, head of village 1 said had it not been for village health workers mortality could be high for people with chronic illnesses.

“We don’t have a clinic and people walk 25km to 30km to Ndlovu clinic because most have no money for transport. We risk our lives through the wildlife infested bush to Ndlovu hence we appeal to the government to help us establish a clinic nearby. We have village health workers who assist to reduce mortality and prevent home deliveries by making sure pregnant women and the chronically ill are assisted to go to hospital,” he said.

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In village 2 villagers are patiently waiting for the opening of a clinic after a building was identified for use as a health facility.

The structure has no electricity and water, said village head Joseph Munsaka.

“They promised to bring some nurses to use a building that is lying idle. They said they want to connect water and electricity and we hope this will happen soon to save lives,” he said.

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Gilbert Munkuli said sometimes health authorities visit with a mobile clinic at the nearby Nyongolo primary school.

He said some of his villagers walk more than 30km because they have no money for transport making access to health difficult.

“It is more than 30km to go to Ndlovu Clinic and health workers sometimes come to Nyongolo Primary School to give tablets especially to the chronically ill. Those with money sometimes hire cars but some die at home or fail to go to hospital which worsens the burden of diseases such as TB,” he said.

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Because of proximity to Hwange coal mining town where most people in Hwange worked at the Hwange Colliery Company, the burden of TB is high around the district as many families have lived in Hwange town at some stage before retiring to the rural areas.

Nesi Mpala of village 2 appealed to the government to open a clinic to save chronically ill community members.

“The clinic is far and people who seek medical attention suffer, with pregnant women and those with chronic diseases the worst affected. People living with HIV and Aids are better because health workers come to give them tablets but those with TB have to go to the clinic and struggle to travel because transport is expensive. We wish the government can give us a mobile clinic so that TB patients and pregnant women get help,” said Mpala.

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Government is working on a national health policy whose vision is to ensure primary health care is accessible to all communities although the plan has been in the pipeline for many years.

Health is a critical human right and key to attainment of Sustainable Development Goals.

 

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VFWT partners with Mvuthu villagers to tackle human-wildlife conflicts

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust (VFWT) has announced that they have secured funding to work with the communities of the new scheme of herding cattle, amid growing concerns of human-wildlife conflicts in the Mvuthu’s jurisdiction.

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This was announced by the VFWT Community Liaison officer Bongani Dlodlo on Tuesday at a village assembly meeting in the Mvuthu area.

He said the scheme aims to reduce the continuous attack of the domestic animals, mainly the cattle by predators such as the lions.

 

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The organisation will actively involved in various environmental issues in the area, including the introduction of mobile bomas years ago, making of chill dung to deter elephants among other rehabilitation projects.

“This will be a programme to run for three years, where we are going to create mobile kraals where the whole village, those who are willing will bring their cattle there and we will hire some willing community members above 22 years of age to look after them during the day and night,” Dlodlo said.

“We are trying to reduce the problem of your livestock getting killed and while under this scheme, we shall ensure that they get treated whenever they present some symptoms of not being well and we will also vaccinate and feed them so that they can increase the value in the market whenever you want to dispose of some of them.”

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Dlodlo also added that this will be done throughout the year.

“During the off-cropping season, we will be rotating them from one field to the other so that we also mitigate the issue of poor soils this community is faced with. By this, we hope that even your yield will improve for these coming years.”

Although some at the meeting met with skepticism, Dlodlo insisted that the villagers were not under duress to let go of their cattle and that the preparatory planning and strategies to be adopted were going to be done together with the communities.

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Fears were around the issue of religious beliefs around the rearing of livestock.

Other concerns were around the issue of having to walk long distances to milk cows and even having them to perform some day to day chores such as the fetching of firewood.

According to the Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers, cases of human-wildlife conflicts have been increasing since 2016 by over 216 percent and Mvuthu villagers have often paid the price without compensation.

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Others also queried about what will happen if their livestock gets attacked while with the hired herders and Dlodlo responded: “We will not be paying for any compensation because ours to try and help this community, but because the herders and the place of herding will be chosen by you, we hope that this will be a holistic community project where you can always check on what is happening as we work together.”

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