Midlands correspondent
The Government is targeting nationwide television and radio coverage by the end of 2028 as it accelerates the digitalisation programme and expands broadcasting infrastructure across the country.
Permanent secretary in the Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services ministry, Nick Mangwana said the government was already implementing an accelerated digitalisation programme, with additional transmitters being rolled out to extend television coverage to previously underserved communities.
Mangwana was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the official opening of the ministry’s Strategic Plan Workshop for 2027 in Gweru.
He said five new television transmitters were expected to have been installed by the end of this year, with a further 10 planned for 2027.
“Our strategy for 2027 is to install another ten transmitters and move our current coverage in as far as television is concerned to 56% by the end of 2027,” he said.
The expansion is expected to culminate in the completion of the digitalisation programme in 2028, when the government aims to ensure that television services are accessible across the country.
“We expect to finish the whole digitalization project, meaning that by the end of 2028 every blade of grass and grain of sand in this country will be covered by television,” Mangwana said.
The government is also targeting significant expansion of radio coverage as part of efforts to ensure wider access to information, particularly for communities that remain outside the reach of existing broadcasting services.
Mangwana said national radio coverage was expected to reach 85 percent this year, before increasing to 90 percent during the first quarter of 2027.
He said the ministry was hopeful of pushing radio coverage to 95 percent by the end of 2027, with the remaining gaps expected to be addressed by 2028.
“And then by the end of 2028, everything being equal, again every blade of grass and grain of sand will have radio coverage,” he said.
The expansion of broadcasting services is part of the ministry’s broader objective of ensuring that communities across the country have access to timely and reliable information, regardless of their geographical location.
Mangwana said the programme would support the government’s commitment to leaving no one and no place behind in terms of access to information.
“Meaning that the mantra of leaving no one and no place behind in as far as this ministry is concerned, we should be completed by 2028,” he said.
Funding has previously been identified as one of the major challenges affecting the expansion of broadcasting infrastructure, but Government has now set aside dedicated resources for the program.
“One of the biggest challenges we have ever had was funding, but Government has ring-fenced certain funds to push that universal access to information programme,” Mangwana said.
The planned expansion is expected to strengthen the country’s broadcasting infrastructure while improving access to information in rural and other underserved areas.
The digitalisation programme is also expected to play a key role in expanding television services as the country moves towards completion of the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting.
