Avuxeni FM, Zimbabwe first licensed commmunity radio go off

The Herald

The usually serene town of Chiredzi reverberated to Shangani traditional music and dance on February 13, Avuxeni when the first licensed community radio station in Zimbabwe, went on air.

The birth of the new station out of the 14 licensed community radio stations was a dawn of a new era for the people in the Lowveld who had been receiving radio signals from neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Mozambique for over four decades.

Avuxeni, which is short for "Va le vuxeni", means people of the east and was adopted as a greeting slogan by the Vatsonga (Shangani) people, who dominate the Lowveld area from Mwenezi to the east right up to Malipati on the fringes of the Limpopo Valley.

It is because of the role of radio, that Governments across Africa sought to extend information dissemination by coming up with community based stations.

These have since become important support systems for information dissemination in a world that is increasingly becoming hostile owing to conflict, natural disasters and incessant outbreaks of diseases.

Africa, like the rest of the developing world, faces increasing social, economic, political, and cultural development challenges. Addressing them requires strategies that include the use of media and communications toward actively engaging communities in policy formulation and implementation.

While the advent of new media and an avalanche of social media platforms now makes it easier for everyone to access news-albeit with consequences -- marginalised communities still find it difficult to access online channels, because of costs of data and internet accessibility.

With both commercial and public radio frequencies only servicing major cities, community radio stations have done well in bridging information gap in marginalised areas.

Their transmitters may reach only a few miles, but community radio stations are enabling isolated communities across Africa to voice their own concerns, listen to their own music, and interact among themselves.

There is so much power of broadcasting local content in local languages and playing music that locals can easily identify with.

Guests to the official opening of Avuxeni could not help but marvel at the well-choreographed dances as locals swayed to some Shangani beats that reverberated throughout the stadium.

For a moment, the soaring temperatures were literally obliterated by the powerful Shangani drums, which were supported by thumping of feet and ululations from all directions.

Locals were beyond themselves with excitement as they listened to their indigenous music being played on a national event.

Outside cementing relations through music in local language, community radio stations allow ordinary citizens to flourish, because they now have a platform to discuss issues that are central to them, such as gender relations and combating HIV/AIDS.

Since community radio stations are for the rural communities, vulnerable and hard to reach populations instead of mainstream population, the platforms present opportunities for locals to discuss and come up with solutions ideally for them because they are a homogeneous group.

Speaking at the official opening of the Avuxeni, Chief Tshovane, Mr Felix Mundau, said the Shangani people now have a platform, where traditional leaders would now disseminate information on cultural preservation in their periphery. The quest for Chief Tshovane falls into the role of community media, which should have a social agenda, and not be driven by purely commercial motivations.

Once the community takes ownership over content, it becomes easier for people around, to open up, and even contribute towards the radio's sustenance on both content production and resources availability.

While, of course, the impact of local radio stations may vary with each region, country and communities, they have over the years become a means of education, self-expression and communication, while also promoting the community's history, music and oral traditions.

Positive changes have also been reported at personal level, where women and youth have upgraded their skills by taking part in entrepreneurial projects that are undertaken by community radio stations, either as lessons, phone-in or participatory programmes.

Opportunities that community radio stations bring for its community members such as learning new skills are too numerous to mention. In addition, programmes are curated to meet the aspirations of the community and that alone, is an advantage that ensures that people are not bombarded with information that does not meet their needs.

In face of the challenges brought about by Covid-19, it becomes a lot easier for the community to define their own trajectory on how they want to deal with problems associated with the pandemic, through content and programming.

Having waited for years, the Second Republic licensed 14 community radio stations, in a welcome development that resonates well with Africa's aspiration to bring information to the people.

By supporting a robust roll out of community radio station licensing, Zimbabwe is fulfilling its promise to broaden access to information for the benefit of citizens.

Community radio stations, remain the only accessible and readily affordable medium within the rural community and play significant roles in rural development for everyone-particularly for women, not only in Zimbabwe but across Africa.

Since time immemorial, radio has become a dominant source of news and information for a vast majority of people, not only in Zimbabwe but across the continent, because of its ability to reach out to millions in a short period of time.

Despite the positive spin off of community radio stations, funding challenges have often hogged the limelight, with several community radio stations collapsing under thin and ad hoc funding models.

Because community radio stations are not commercially driven, run on sponsored programmes and the goodwill of the community, in which it broadcasts from, they often struggle to stay afloat and sometimes even fail to broadcast.

There is need for robust funding models if community radio stations are to continue broadcasting, beyond the assistance they get from the Government.

Outside the broadcasting equipment which the Government normally provides, there is no other funding, which is often availed, a development which then stifles the growth or sustenance of community radio stations.

The challenge is not only confined to Zimbabwe alone, but has affected several community radio stations across the continent.

Across the continent most stations also rely on voluntary services, leaving them perpetually struggling to develop new talent as staff members move on.

Despite such constraints, community radio stations remain the only hope of shifting the communication balance from a distant voice controlled from the top, to one in which the voices of marginalised and poor populations can at last be heard.