Pretoria – The Zibonele Community Radio Station in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, will re-launch its logo on Saturday.
Communications Minister Faith Muthambi will attend the event and unveil the commemorative plaque of Radio Zibonele.
“As government, we value and understand the importance of community radio of offering communities a cheap but vital way of protecting their language and heritage.
“It is well-known that in an ideal world, community radio allows members of a community to gain access to information, education and entertainment.
“In its purest sense, it is media in which the communities participate as planners, producers and performers and it is the means of expression of the community,” the Minister said.
Minister Muthambi said it is important for the community radio station, which won the MTN Radio Best Bulletin Reader Award, to continue playing a vital role in development and democratisation by enabling the local communities to voice their own experiences and to critically examine issues, processes and policies affecting their lives.
The station also educates and mobilises communities around development initiatives and strategies that will result in a better life for listeners. This includes voter education, health matters, local government, gender issues, peace building and environmental problems.
The Minister reiterated that it is her department’s mandate, through the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa and Media Development and Diversity Agency to ensure that all municipalities in the country have access to community media and give them the necessary support. - SAnews.gov.za
