By Dr Michelina Andreucci

WHEN Zimbabwe gained its independence on April 18 1980, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) was created as the exclusive broadcasting authority in the country.
Shortly after independence, the radio services were reorganised; the General Service of the Broadcasting Corporation was renamed Radio One, while the African Service identified as Mbare Station, became known as Radio Two, both broadcast for 19 hours a day.
ZBC went on to operate four radio channels: Radio One, which covered a wide spectrum of listeners, broadcast in English.
Programmes included a diversity of music, light entertainment, sport, comedy, quizzes and drama, apart from news and general information.
The soft-spoken Mandi Mundawarara was the first indigenous woman continuity announcer on Radio One in 1979.
In the late 1970s, she made broadcasting history in Zimbabwe as the ‘first black trainee’ to be appointed as a producer-announcer, to the permanent staff of the General Service of the Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation (RBC), when she was only 18 years old.
In 1980, due to her impeccable professionalism and clear diction, she was rated as the best black woman announcer on Zimbabwean television.
Radio Two broadcast in Shona, Ndebele and other vernacular languages.
The station served the majority of the rural and urban indigenous population.
In 1972, Radio Two introduced live vernacular soccer commentary, with Jonathan Mutsinze, Paminus Nyamurova, Amos Nakambi and Collet Bahlengene.
Radio football was a virtual theatre of the mind as listeners literally witnessed the match.
Mutsinze retired from radio in January 1996, with the position of chief producer-sports presenter, although he was also known for his educational programmes ‘Tsika Dzedu’ and ‘Tsumo neMadimikira’ – programmes which espoused the values of ubuntu/hunhu.
Radio Three was later introduced as a 24-hour commercial music station aimed at the young highly-receptive youth.
Besides fast-paced international music, it provided entertainment information and more importantly, education.
Working closely with the Ministry of Education as well as other relevant Government ministries and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Radio Four was launched as an educational channel which broadcast for 19 hours a day in Shona, Ndebele, English and the minority languages of Chewa, Kalanga, Tonga, Venda and isiShangani.
Another early ‘star’ at ZBC was ‘The Voice’, Maria Pangidzwa, who joined the Corporation in 1981 as a news compiler for Radio One, then known as Radio Jacaranda.
Many listeners assumed her to be local ‘nose brigade’ who ‘put on an English accent’.
The exuberant presenter was in fact, of Greek origin married to a Zimbabwean, who was taught to speak Shona by her colleagues at ZBC.
She later moved to Radio Three and Four where she produced various magazine programmes, before joining the News and Current Affairs Department with Patrick Bajila, presenting the news on ‘Newsbeat’, ‘Newsreel’ and other programmes.
After independence Radio Four was added to the other channels, supported with technical and other support from UNESCO and the German Friedrich-Ebert Foundation. It broadcast on FM transmitters spread across the country for 12 hours a day.
It was the most innovative station that included four hours of educational programmes.
In October 1982, Mavis Moyo, a veteran broadcaster, was appointed to spearhead the establishment of ZBC’s new Radio Four education and rural development programmes, replacing scarce school books in some areas to become the main learning source for remote rural areas.
Hilda Mbvundula was one of the early Chewa presenters.
In 1968 Mavis Moyo was the first woman to read the news on the African Service of the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (RBC).
In fact, she was one of the very few women (either black or white) broadcasters in Rhodesia.
In 1977, she was instrumental in the formation of the Federation of African Media Women (FAMWZ), beginning with a consultative meeting of media women in Lusaka, Zambia.
Also in 1968 the Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation (RBC), expanded its services further, with the introduction of the first local community stations.
Radio Jacaranda situated in Salisbury was first, followed by Radio Matopos in Bulawayo.
Radio Manica, located in Umtali (Mutare), was the last local station to be established at the time.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Moyo was leading a project which became known as ‘Development Through Radio’ (DTR) covered Zimbabwe and the Southern African region.
In February 1992, Radio Four was handed over by the German institution to their Zambian counterparts.
Their personnel went into the field with recorders, to record listeners’ responses to their programmes and broadcast them back; an important method of seeking listeners’ feedback.
The world over people use radio primarily as a source of news and music, and Zimbabwean listeners are no exception; nevertheless radio as a pedagogical tool should not be overlooked.
Although often overshadowed as an educational medium vis-à-vis other technologies such as television, it has been used in different formats for educational purposes throughout the world.
Radio today is not different to the old fireside stories of our grandparents’; the same stories that eventually evolved into pungwes that brought the people together during the 1970s to stoke the coals of freedom which eventually led to national liberation.
On another note; following the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) by Ian Smith on November 11 1965, the RBC was part of the regime’s propaganda machinery.
Although the electronic media was meant to be autonomous, in reality, the Smith regime exercised political control, including imposing guidelines that denied African opposition access to the airwaves.
The Rhodesian Parliament passed legislation imposing a fine of up to (Rhod) $1 500 or two years imprisonment for anyone who allowed hostile broadcasts to be aired in public.
The Rhodesian regime institutionalised the ‘Bush War’.
In fact, Ian Smith admitted that radio was one of the most powerful tools in the ongoing war ‘for men’s minds’.
One of the main objectives of ZBC should be re-visiting and keeping the legacy of the liberation war alive, mainly from an Afro-centred point of view.
Where is hunhu/ubuntu on our airwaves today?
Currently, many programmes are repeated; with most radio presenters found wanting in current affairs, verbal communication diction and punctuation.
The ability to provide interesting programmes outside of sports, mainly football, is distressing.
Presenters are not qualified and therefore should refrain from giving social counselling, which is also the order of the day.
Lately the penchant for personalising the airways, especially with sexual innuendoes, combined with religious songs in almost every programme is distressing.
While religious groups in many African countries have a strong influence over the airwaves and command high audiences – predominantly among women; there is too much religious content on the airwaves today.
What about other listeners who pay their radio licences?
With this in mind, perhaps it is time to have an independent station devoted entirely to religion, sports, classical and old school music, and a major station dealing with developmental issues.
Dr Michelina Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian researcher, industrial design consultant and specialist hospitality interior decorator. She is a published author in her field.
For views and comments, email: linamanucci@gmail.com