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Dr Mushohwe

Cletus Mushanawani Mutare Bureau
THE ongoing digitisation programme of broadcasting services has covered a lot of ground in Manicaland with some of the sites ready to be switched on any time.

In an interview yesterday, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Chris Mushohwe said sites like Rukotso in Nyanga and Cecil Kop in Mutare were fully digitised and ready for transmission even tomorrow.

“Resources are a challenge but we are happy with the progress made so far. We are still focused to have every part of the country accessing airwaves.

“Yes, Manicaland has its challenges because of its rugged terrain but we are confident of covering all areas. Equipment for the completion of the Honde Valley transmission site is already on site. The same applies to Hwange in Matabeleland North

“The Gwindingwi site in Chimanimani is partially completed and the towers are already on site,” he said.

Dr Mushohwe said across the country, transmission sites like Sosomoya in Mutoko, Pockets Hill in Harare, Bulawayo, Kamativi and Kenmar in Matabeleland North were ready to be switched on.

“We are waiting for equipment for Binga, Kotwa, Bindura, Nkayi, Gokwe and Mashava. They will be ready any time if the necessary equipment is fitted in.

“Our plan is to switch on the transmission sites at once upon completion of the project, but resources are a constraint. We are negotiating with the Ministry of Finance for them to avail more resources.

“If the resources are not forthcoming, we will consider taking the route of switching on the completed transmission sites and move on to others upon their completion,” he said.

Dr Mushohwe said they were also refurbishing some of the old sites for them to be completely digitalised.

“We need $142 million to complete the whole project by the end of the year.

“We are in the process of purchasing some set-top-boxes and provide services to the people,” he said.

Speaking during a recent tour of a transmission site at Gwiriri, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services permanent secretary Cde George Charamba, said he was impressed with the work done on the Honde Valley transmission site where the concrete footings that support the tower had been completed.

“This is one of the sites that have passed and we are ready to do the super structure. Manicaland is beautiful in terms of tourism because its scenic, but the province is giving us a challenge when it comes to broadcasting.

“The mountainous nature of Manicaland is such that we cannot rely on one site to service the people because the site cannot provide service across the mountain ranges.

“To that extent, Manicaland gives us a very formidable challenge. It is just not Honde Valley, we have Nyanga, Chimanimani, and of course Chipinge. These are very difficult areas.”

He added: “In the case of Chimanimani, we have a very good site around Gwindingwi area, but the area which is near that site which is Biririri they cannot access a resource which is a stone’s throw away. In that case we have to develop what are called gap fillers.”

Cde Charamba urged content producers to up their game and produce material to meet increased broadcast hours that would be made available through digitalisation.