Radio VOP Applies For Operating Licence: Masuku

Addressing more than 40 Radio VOP website and radio Correspondents gathered in Harare for a one-day workshop, Masuku said: “Yes, we have applied for an operating licence. We are waiting to see what will happen. What have you heard about our application.”

The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ), which falls directly under the Media and Information Commission (MIC) currently led by veteran broadcast journalist, Godfrey Majonga, has the final say before issuing out broadcasting licenses in Zimbabwe.

Radio VOP is among three independent but unlicensed Radio and Website stations currently operating in Zimbabwe today.

Only the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Holdings Limited (ZBC) has the monopoly for the airwaves in Zimbabwe.

However, people living in Zimbabwe are currently fed up with the national broadcaster which broadcasts mainly former ruling party Zanu (PF) propaganda material which is in black and white and was shot during the days of the liberation struggle before Independence in 1980.

The ZBC television station regularly shows armed soldiers singing and praising the current President Robert Mugabe and his former ruling party Zanu PF goons.

The two other unlicensed radio stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe are Studio Seven (7) from Washington DC in the United States of America (US) and SW Radio from South Africa.

Studio Seven is currently led by former Senior Reporter for The Standard newspaper, Ray Choto based in Washington DC, while SW Radio is currently led by Jerry Jackson a former journalist with the cash-strapped ZBC.

It could not be independently established whether or not SW Radio and Studio Seven had also applied for operating licenses to broadcast their programmes from inside Zimbabwe.