Govt re-aligns digital migration content budget

GOVERNMENT has re-aligned the budget allocations to communities countrywide to enhance the production of more content for the ongoing digital migration programme, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Mr George Charamba, has said.

He said the culture of pooling resources under one basket had resulted in delays in rolling out the digitalisation programme, with those from outside major cities encountering challenges in accessing a piece of the national cake.

He said under the new initiative, funds would be allocated based on the needs of content producers in a specific area.

Mr Charamba was speaking during a Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) outreach programme on digital migration held in Beitbridge.

“We are saying there is one level which is national where big artists will compete on one platform, but that however, is not a fair basis for artists coming from outlying areas,” he said.

“So the idea is to have a breakdown with a portion that particularly favours outlying districts like Chiredzi and Beitbridge so that within the confines of that area we have them (artists) competing for that particular component of the budget.

“It empowers local communities who historically have been disadvantaged”.

Mr Charamba said BAZ has also invited many people to apply for commercial radio licences since previously the response had been low.

He said there has been an interest among other players seeking licensing after realising that the process has been simplified.

According to Mr Charamba, Government is the midst of transforming radio and television services in border towns and other outlying areas which have previously been overlooked.

“We are making a second invitation to those interested in having commercial radio stations, especially in areas like Beitbridge which serves as a gateway to the country and the Sadc region.

“This kind of approach is that you have a special radio station which is resident, which identifies with local activities, culture and economic activities, and assumes the character of the community that it serves,” he said.

The permanent secretary said it was worrying that in some areas radio and television network coverage was still a challenge.

He said the Beitbridge transmitter would soon be upgraded to meet the modern digitalisation facilities that carry both television and radio signals.

“We have a sad story in Beitbridge where the tower that was set up a few years before we put together the digital migration project has been condemned as not meeting the required standards.

“We need to bring up a new tower with an improved range of services that are being enjoyed elsewhere in the country. I don’t subscribe to a school of thought where communities are condemned or stigmatised based on their geographical location,” Mr Charamba said.

He said it was also important for content producers to tell stories in a language that speaks to specific aspects and values of their communities.

Mr Charamba said national radio and television should be representative and be inclusive of the country’s official languages.

“What we are saying is that your mother tongue should become your medium of expression. Give us programmes in that language and leave the challenge of making that programme heard nationally.

“This is where issues of subtitles come in, so we are encouraging that alongside content canning we must in the same spirit promote national languages, which are in fact regional languages,” he said.

Mr Charamba said it was important for broadcasters to produce content that highlights special roles played by different places during the war of liberation.