THE Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) is set to hold public hearings for the three radio stations at Jameson Hotel in Harare today and tomorrow for the city’s sole commercial radio licence.
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These include Carryslot (Pvt) Ltd trading as Capital FM, Yes Frequency Modulation (Pvt) Ltd trading as Yes FM, and Kingstons trading as Ke100.4FM.
Officials from the three aspiring broadcasters are set to present their proposals to the public at the hearings before BAZ issues a licence to the candidate it deems the best.
The regulatory authority has conducted similar hearings in Bulawayo, Zvishavane, Mutare and Kariba.
Harare initially had four contestants before Vox Media Productions trading as VOP FM pulled out under unclear circumstances in July.
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BAZ then postponed the hearings countrywide citing “unforeseen circumstances”.
Zimbabwe currently has six radio stations — four owned by the State — while the other two StarFM and ZiFM are owned by the State-owned Zimpapers and AB Communications, which is linked to Information, Media and Broadcasting Services deputy minister Supa Mandiwanzira respectively.
A number of media lobby groups and associations have been calling for the liberalisation of broadcasting services for private players as government dithers on licensing them despite a Supreme Court ruling in 2000 which overturned the State’s broadcasting monopoly.