Fourteen applications were received for the two radio broadcasting licences offered by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ).
The stampede was revealed on Thursday by BAZ chief executive officer Obert Muganyura when he appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Media, Information and Communication Technology chaired by Nketa MP Seiso Moyo.
Muganyura appeared before the committee together with BAZ chairman Tafataona Mahoso.
“We received 14 applications for the two radio broadcasting licences on offer and in terms of the law anyone who is licensed is required to provide services within 18 months of being issued with the licence,” Mahoso said.
“The first priority for the licences would go to commercial radio stations because media surveys conducted and also those conducted during the Copac outreach process revealed that people favoured them than community radio stations,” he said.
However, Mahoso’s argument has been strongly contested by aspiring players who feel that denying the country independent community radio stations was aimed at ensuring the continued monopoly of ZBC.
A report recently produced by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Media, Information and Communication Technology revealed BAZ had 10 classes of broadcasting licensing that they can issue, including commercial, community, subscription narrowcasting service, webcasting service, roadcasting service, and railcasting broadcasting services.
“For commercial radio the frequency has a capacity for six radio licences and five were allocated to ZBC for Radio Zimbabwe, Power FM, Spot FM, National FM and Voice of Zimbabwe, leaving one for new players. “In respect of community radios, BAZ came up with 56 frequencies,” read the committee report.
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The committee said since the enactment of the Broadcasting Services Act in 2001, no community broadcasting licence had been issued by BAZ although about 10 aspiring players countrywide had shown interest.
Tabani Moyo, the Media Institute of Southern Africa advocacy officer, said BAZ was only trying to hide under the guise of being underfunded to avoid opening up space for new players for political reasons.
