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Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project provides broadcasting equipment to a community radio in Chimanimani
The UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) and Zimbabwe鈥檚 Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services with support from the World Bank funded and UNOPS managed Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project (ZIRP) handed over the first batch of broadcasting equipment to Nyangani FM community radio station on 27 September 2021.
The equipment handover took place during the 2021 International Day for the Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) commemorations held in Chimanimani.
Addressing delegates, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa said the licensing and equipping of community radio stations was meant to increase access to information as a public good.
She highlighted the importance of building knowledgeable and well informed citizens and said the Government of Zimbabwe was working hard to ensure citizens have unhindered access to information.
Minster Mutsvangwa encouraged the people of Chimanimani to capacitate themselves in improving their community radio station by working together as a community with one vision and expressed her heartfelt appreciation to UNESCO and its partners for the support towards the government led community radio initiative.
She said the establishment of community radio stations will go a long way in addressing communication challenges during emergencies such as floods.
Cyclone Idai that hit Chimanimani and other parts of the country left scars, both physical and emotional, that continue to haunt people to this day. The Minister said this calls for an efficient national communication system to best manage the negative and most deleterious effects of such natural disasters.
Speaking during the same function, Chimanimani District Administrator Mr Joseph Manyurapasi said the broadcasting equipment gives an opportunity for the district to showcase its endowments.
UNESCO ROSA Officer-in-Charge Martiale Zebaze Kana said community media had the potential to customize climate change communication into local languages and contextualize the messages for community members to easily understand them and take the necessary actions.
He expressed UNESCO鈥檚 gratitude to the World Bank and UNOPS for supporting the purchase of the radio equipment and other UNESCO-led actovties aimed at strengthening community early warning systems in Chimanimani and Chipinge districts.
Speaking on behalf of UNOPS, Mr. Jackson Godfrey Mungoni reiterated the importance of community radios in disseminating accurate and timely information especially in emergency situations.
UNESCO with funding from the World Bank under the UNOPS-managed Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project is implementing the component on 鈥淐omprehensive Resilience Building in Chimanimani and Chipinge districts鈥. The inititiave seeks to reduce the vulnerability of communities in the Chimanimani and Chipinge districts to natural disasters, such as floods, droughts and landslides; and to enhance water resource management as well as ecosystem services in response to the uncertainty of future climate change. Community radios are expected to provide early warning communication.
