Saturday, May 28, 2011

Zimbabwe villagers refuse to pay ZBC licences

Irate villagers in Nyanga North are refusing to pay licence fees that the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is demanding because they say it is failing to transmit a reliable signal in the area. Last week, ZBC dispatched its officers to collect listener’s and viewer’s licence fees in the area, but villagers resisted saying they last accessed ZBC programming long ago.

“We are very isolated and we wonder whether we are Zimbabweans. We watch foreign programming from Mozambique and Voice of America (VOA). Important information about our country remains elusive. $50 is too much for such a shoddy job,” said Maruta, who was listening to Studio 7 from the Voice of America.

Residents in Penhalonga interviewed by The Zimbabwean said they would not pay up if the national broadcaster does not improve its programming.“ They can take us to court but we will not pay. We cannot bankroll activities of one political party in the inclusive government. The local content is not educative or informative in anyway,” said Misheck Runhanya of Penhalonga.

Most residents in urban areas are now subscribing to MultiChoice TV and free-to-air decoders to run away from propaganda being churned by national broadcaster.

(Source: The Zimbabwean via Radio Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

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