More indigenous languages go on air

Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
It is a few who know that the Babirwa people in some parts of Manama bury their patriarchs lying on their left side.

But before this can happen, pallbearers take the deceased to his cattle kraal for a ritual meant to separate him from his earthly possessions symbolised by cattle.

In the Sotho culture, the deceased’s spouse has to cover their face like that of an eloping young girl in the village as a sign of respect.

These and many other little spoken about cultures among their folk will be brought to the fore on Ntepe-Manama Community Radio station which is set to go on air next month.

Villagers are excited that the station will be broadcasting in SeSotho for the proliferation of their language and culture.

“We’ll finally be able to hear about our people, our culture, our food and our community on radio. Our children had been listening mostly to foreign radio because there was no option of a local radio station. We can’t hide our joy and excitement about the fact that we’ll finally have our own local radio station,” said Ms Reakemetswe Dube from Manama.

She said some SeSotho speaking people from her area had become embarrassed of speaking in their native language as they were a minority.

“You’d find that we would force ourselves to speak in Ndebele so we can fit in. Our children had nowhere else to learn the language except from home. Now that we have a radio station, it would be great for us and our children to hear our language through the airwaves,” said Ms Dube.

Another villager, Mr Nyakallo Nare, said the station would be a vital cog for development.

“There are many issues in our community which we would like to hear about on radio. There are also many developmental initiatives that people don’t know about because of the unavailability of such platforms in the past,” said Mr Nare.

He said a significant number of villagers are not aware of some of the anti-stock committees that assist farmers to recover their livestock in the area.

“We have the Gwanda Anti-stocktheft Association and the Vulture Team for example but many people don’t know about them because there have not been any platforms to disseminate that kind of information,” said Mr Nare.

He said the establishment of the community radio station will spur development in the area.
“Because of this station, there’ll be need to have a reliable source of power and water, for example, which would also benefit villagers. Our area will no longer be marginalised. We’ve finally been given a voice,” said Mr Nare.

One of the radio presenters, Ms Primrose Tlou said the Babirwa people in Manama will finally have the opportunity to listen to local content in SeSotho through Ntepe-Manama Community radio station.

“I’m happy that we’ll be able to broadcast in SeSotho because growing up, our children were taught in SeSotho,” she said.

“When they went to school, they would be taught in Ndebele. SeSotho would only be spoken at home but now we’re happy that even when the children are playing and the elders are working in the fields, they can switch on the radio and listen to content in SeSotho.”

Another presenter, Ms Sinenhlanhla Ndlovu said the station will promote local artistes.

“We’re going to be able to promote our young local artists. They can sing in their local languages and be sure that they’ll get airplay. It’s an opportunity to share our history and culture, especially of the Sotho people. Previously, it felt like we were far from everyone else but now we have a platform to speak about everything that concerns us,” said Ms Ndlovu.

Ntepe-Manama Community Radio station will cover 13 wards with areas including Gwanda South, parts of Gwanda North, Kezi and Beitbridge having access to the signal.

The radio’s transmitters will cover a radius of about 120km.
The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe under the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services has since 2021 issued 14 licences to community radio stations across the country.

Some of those awarded licences are now operational, a move that is set to revolutionise communication dissemination to outlying areas normally not covered by mainstream media.

In an interview after a workshop with Ntepe-Manama Community Radio station presenters in Manama last week, Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Mr Nick Mangwana said efforts were being made to ensure that all parts of the country have local radio and television transmission.

“The major constraint is contesting and competing priorities. To us, in the Ministry of Information, this is a priority but there are other developmental issues that are coming from the same pot so budgetary constraints are normally the issue. The Ministry of Health will be saying this hospital needs to be sorted, this one needs to be equipped, that one needs ancillary items. At the Ministry of Information, we’ll be saying information is key, we need these transmitters. In terms of these priorities, we may be given a bit and that bit can only do so much. But, I can tell you that we’re seized with the issue of making sure that certain transmitters are rehabilitated, updated and others constructed from scratch. We want to make sure that the whole country has a radio and television signal,” said Mr Mangwana.

He said the Second Republic is committed to bringing development to Matabeleland South province.
“We’ve got the construction of Tuli-Manyange Dam here, we’ve got the roads under construction, we’re going to have the Beitbridge-Bulawayo Road as a main trunk road and many other roads that are being rehabilitated and graded. It shows that no place is considered unimportant and the issues of marginalisation will no longer be a challenge because of the President’s thrust. Moreso, his flagship policy of devolution brings development to the people and by the people,” said Mr Mangwana.

The digitalisation process is in compliance with international requirements.

The main reason for the world’s migration to digital is to release valuable spectrum which can be used for other services. Spectrum is scarce therefore, more efficient use of the spectrum is necessary if more terrestrial telecommunications and broadcasting services are to be made available.

Last year in April, the country switched over from the analogue signal to digital terrestrial television (DTT) under a US$125 million Zimbabwe Digital Broadcasting Migration project. – @Yolisswa

Article Source: The Chronicle