The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu
Kwekwe, Insiza, Gwanda and Filabusi are some of the areas that Zvishavane-based radio station YaFM will soon be available in after it was granted permission to increase its broadcast spectrum.
Four years after it made its debut on the airwaves as Zvishavane’s first commercial radio station, YaFM is now on the verge of a dramatic expansion that looks set to cement its self-proclaimed title as the voice of miners in the mineral rich Great Dyke.
In an interview, the station’s chief executive officer Munyaradzi Hwengwere said the ambitious station was coming to other towns and cities around Zimbabwe.
“What happened was that we realised that, in order to increase our radio frequencies, we needed to convince the Government that we’re the voice of the miners.
“So fortunately we did just that and we have been granted more frequencies. Already we have a transmitter installed in Mberengwa and we will be installing others in the near future. YaFM will soon be broadcasting from areas that range from Insiza to Kwekwe,” he said.
Hwengwere said the station’s greatest goal was to market the Great Dyke region, with many more initiatives in the pipeline in line with that goal.
“We will be launching the Great Dyke News 24 which is a platform where people will be able to access news about the region. This is all in line with our vision to uplift and market this great area,” he said.
The launch of an expanded YaFM and the Great Dyke News 24 is expected to take place on 29 March.
Hwengwere said both initiatives would go a long way in showcasing the opportunities that lie in the Great Dyke region.
Hwengwere said they were celebrating everything that was good about the Great Dyke region without sweeping the bad under the carpet.
“The good is that the Great Dyke brought investment worth 2,5 billion to the country last year and it is estimated that it will bring eight billion worth of investment by 2023.
“The negative is the environmental degradation in the area as well as the fact that the girl child is the last beneficiary whenever development takes place,” he said.
