<div dir="ltr">
<h1 id="gmail-heading">Bulawayo radio station quizzed for not broadcasting in Shona</h1>
<div id="gmail-author">
by Staff reporter </div>
<div id="gmail-pub_date">
<i class="gmail-fa gmail-fa-clock-o"></i> 8 hrs ago | <span id="gmail-p_v">1370</span> Views
</div>
<div id="gmail-story_pic">
<div class="gmail-relative">
<img src="https://img.bulawayo24.com/articles/khulumani.jpg">
</div>
<div id="gmail-pic_credit">
</div>
</div>
<div id="gmail-ad_above_article">
<ins class="gmail-adsbygoogle" style="display:block;height:90px"><ins id="gmail-aswift_2_expand" style="display:inline-table;border:medium none;height:90px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:728px;background-color:transparent"><ins id="gmail-aswift_2_anchor" style="display:block;border:medium none;height:90px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:728px;background-color:transparent"></ins></ins></ins>
</div>
<div id="gmail-story" class="gmail-btm20">
CHIPINGE West legislator Adam
Chimwamurombe has questioned why newly established ZBC radio station -
Khulumani FM - is not broadcasting in Shona, drawing the ire of fellow
members of the House of Assembly and the generality of Zimbabweans.<br><br>The
radio station, which was established two weeks ago, broadcasts from
Montrose Studios in Bulawayo in seven languages - Ndebele, Xhosa, Venda,
Sotho, Tonga, Kalanga and English. It broadcasts to audiences in the
Bulawayo Metropolitan Province and surrounding areas within a 40km
radius.<br><br>Its programming is a mixture of talk (40 percent) and music (60 percent).<br><br>During
a question and answer session in the House of Assembly on Wednesday,
Chimwamurombe asked the Minister of Media, Information and Broadcasting
Services, Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo, what Government's policy was with
regards to the languages that are used in broadcasting.<br><br>". . .
This is in regard to the new Khulumani FM in Bulawayo where seven
languages are used. I understand we have 16 national languages in our
Constitution and the major ones are Shona and Ndebele. At Khulumani FM,
they are using seven and leaving out Shona which is also one of the
major languages.<br><br>"Is that not dividing people by having other languages being spoken and leaving out the major languages," asked Chimwamurombe?"<br><br>Glen
Norah legislator Webster Maondera interjected saying his counterpart
was misleading the House. Before he could explain further, the acting
Speaker shut him up and asked Minister Moyo to respond.<br><br>Responded
Ambassador Moyo: "We've no provision as regards to policy for any
language discrimination. All the languages reflected in our Constitution
are equal. Therefore, if there's any such situation which I'm not aware
of and wasn't aware of, it's a matter which obviously I'll need to
investigate and find out why.<br><br>"As for now, the policy is very
clear and I hope that gives the Hon Member some comfort in the sense
that I'll indeed investigate this development."<br><br><div class="gmail-btm10 gmail-ads">
<ins class="gmail-adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px"><ins id="gmail-aswift_3_expand" style="display:inline-table;border:medium none;height:280px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:336px;background-color:transparent"><ins id="gmail-aswift_3_anchor" style="display:block;border:medium none;height:280px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:336px;background-color:transparent"></ins></ins></ins>
</div>Thereafter, seasoned comedian Ntando Van Moyo responded to the
parliamentarian via his Facebook page saying Khulumani FM's targeted
audience were Bulawayo residents, most of whom are Ndebele speaking.<br><br>"Questioning
why Khulumani FM doesn't use Shona language in their broadcast is
s*****. First, it's called Khulumani not Taurai. We have stations that
don't use IsiNdebele and no one gives a rats a**, embrace diversity
lekele ubumbulu," he wrote on his Facebook page.<br><br>When contacted,
Ntando added: "On Wednesday, there's a minister (sic) who asked why
Khulumani FM uses Ndebele only and he didn't get a clear answer from his
counterparts so I took to Facebook as a public sphere to share my
opinion and give him a straight forward answer.<br><br>"Khulumani FM's target audience are Bulawayo residents and that's why the station is situated in the city."<br><br>Ntando,
who is the founder of Umahlekisa Comedy Club, was praised by some who
supported with his sentiments while others felt there was a need for the
station to broadcast in Shona.<br><br>Backing with the comedian, Blessing Mukonomuwi wrote: ". . . I agree with you, the station is Khulumani not Taurai."<br><br>Another Facebook user, Evans Fundira, gave reasons why Khulumani FM should also broadcast in Shona.<br><br>"Interesting
Ntandoyenkosi, so Al Jazeera is stupid to broadcast in other languages
other than Arabic, BBC is stupid too to do it in other languages other
than English, but as an entrepreneur, ignoring numbers is also a stupid
thing.<br><br>"Hate it or like it, Shonas are many in Zimbabwe, even in
Bulawayo. I hope this station (Khulumani FM) is about making money by
advertising. If they want to be rich like ZiFM and Star FM they should
consider broadcasting in Shona too."<br><br>Questions sent to ZBC on the matter had not been responded to at the time of print.<br></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
</div>