[lg policy] Bulawayo radio station quizzed for not broadcasting in Shona

[Harold Schiffman]

 Bulawayo radio station quizzed for not broadcasting in Shona
by Staff reporter
8 hrs ago | 1370 Views
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.

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.

Its programming is a mixture of talk (40 percent) and music (60 percent).

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.

". . . 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.

"Is that not dividing people by having other languages being spoken and
leaving out the major languages," asked Chimwamurombe?"

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.

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.

"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."

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.

"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.

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.

"Khulumani FM's target audience are Bulawayo residents and that's why the
station is situated in the city."

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.

Backing with the comedian, Blessing Mukonomuwi wrote: ". . . I agree with
you, the station is Khulumani not Taurai."

Another Facebook user, Evans Fundira, gave reasons why Khulumani FM should
also broadcast in Shona.

"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.

"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."

Questions sent to ZBC on the matter had not been responded to at the time
of print.


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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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