THE first official community radio station, Zibonele FM, is back on air.
This after being off air for two months due to a broadcasting license issue.
The station, which started its broadcasts in 1995, switched back on air on 1 September.
The station’s chairman Mthetheleli Vellem has viewed this as a great milestone that calls for community celebration.
“The Zibonele FM family would like to apologise profusely for the inconvenience caused. In the same spirit, we wish to thank everybody who supported the station during this period.
“We particularly want to thank the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies for guidance and leadership provided during the time of despondency. We further extend our appreciation to the regulator (Independent Communications Authority of South Africa) for handling the matter with great compassion and demonstrating the true sense of regulating in the best interest of the community,” he said.
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“Upon receiving the news of the closure of the station, the community took it upon itself to activate community structures that were led by a multidisciplinary task team, composed of councillors, religious leadership, political parties, youth structures, community-based organisations, civic organisations and civil society in general. We would like to thank them for their outstanding leadership, wisdom and commitment displayed at the time of need,” he continued.
He said that the closure has adversely affected the revenue division of the station.
“However, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to loyal advertisers that remained with us even though we were not available on FM (98.2). We would like to further thank our sister stations/publications in the community media sector for their unwavering support and raising awareness about our situation. In conclusion, we cannot express our appreciation enough to our staff members who kept the station going under difficult circumstances and for ensuring that our community keeps receiving good quality content,” said Vellem.
