From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:ZIMBABWE: SATELLITE TELEVISION BLOOMS AMID CONTROVERSY
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 01:20:40 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: ZIMBABWE: SATELLITE TELEVISION BLOOMS AMID CONTROVERSY


an inter press service feature

by andrew zhakata

harare, dec 15 (ips) -- a giant satellite dish planted in the
garden has brightened up davy's life.

''with a satellite dish'', says davy, a second-form student
from gunhill, one of the affluent suburbs in the capital
harare, ''i can tune in to foreign television stations for my
favourite films -- macgyver, booker, santa barbara and top-notch
cop series''.

like video cassettes which took zimbabwe by storm in 1982,
satellite dishes are yet another revolution to sweep the
entertainment-starved zimbabweans off their feet and put them in
a spin.

the gadgets have become a common feature in gardens of
private homes in posh suburbs and have also mushroomed over the
rooftops of commercial companies and government institutions.

a satellite feed of the american armed forces beamed into
zimbabwe in the mid-1980's by 'brightside', a united states
television channel, whetted the zimbabweans' appetite for
satellite television.

when zimbabweans started tuning in to bophuthatswana
television (bop-tv) from the south african bantustan in 1988,
the demand for satellite dishes increased.

the cable and satellite firm m-net international (mni),
''africa's latest television channel'' according to the glossy
publicity blurb, is also planning to beam south african
television programmes into zimbabwe.

zimbabwe currently has two companies, world radio systems
(wrs) and glieman satellite services (gss) which manufacture,
install and export satellite dishes.

''satellite television is becoming more popular in zimbabwe
because of its 24-hour service and many channels. its demand is
already posing a threat to video clubs'', says alf rodley,
managing director of wrs.

gss and wrs started manufacturing satellite dishes in 1984
and 1988 respectively. the two companies have so far sold over
7,000 dishes locally and exported more than 4,000 to about 15
african countries. (more/ips)


zimbabwe: satellites (2)

the parabola-shaped dishes are churned out in various sizes
of 6.2, 5.2 and 3.8 m. the cost of each dish including
installation is between about 4.444 and 9.000 u.s dollars
depending on the size.

satellite television owners watch various programmes --
international sport, premier movies, news and information,
general entertainment and transmissions from the british
bradcasting corporation (bbc) and cable news network (cnn).

however, satellite dishes have sparked controversy.

zimbabwe's minister of home affairs, dumiso dabengwa, told
parliament recently that ''the advent of satellite dishes in
zimbabwe has opened a loophole through which people were now
tapping pornographic materials from the skies and illegally
feeding them into video clubs''.

dabengwa also says the proposed beaming of south african
television programmes through m-net into zimbabwe will result in
the influx of uncensored offensive television programmes.

although aaron chiunduramoyo, a veteran shona novelist and
script writer, welcomes satellite dishes as a giant step in the
technology-starved zimbabwe, he sees them as a big threat to the
country's culture.

''this kind of technology has caught us unawares. it has come
at a time we are struggling to preserve the morals of our
culture and protect our children from filthy materials coming
from overseas'', laments chiunduramoyo.

a recent editorial comment by the financial gazette, a
zimbabwe privately-owned weekly, said dabengwa cannot protect
the zimbabwean consumer from the rapidly expanding satellite
television business nor should he attempt to do so.

satellite dish owners are entitled to select whatever they
pay from the basket of transimissions available. if they then
retail pornography into video clubs, they are guilty of an
offence and the law can take its course. that should not be a
pretext for more censorship and control of broadcasting. ''we
already have too much of both'', reads the editorial in part.

the editorial further charges that since independence in
1980, the government -- inheriting the mantle of its parochial
predecessors -- sought to exercise a tight rein over the press
and electronic media in order to consolidate its political grip.

zimbabwe at present has two television channels under the
state-owned zimbabwe broadcasting corporation (zbc). harare has
access to both channels, while the rest of the country can only
watch one.

nonhlanhla matshazi, a university of zimbabwe graduate, feels
that zbc provides poor service and satellite dishes will make
people more concscious as they will have an opportunity of
viewing ''uncensored news and good movies''.(end/ips/az).
Xref: sparky soc.culture.african:7306 alt.current-events.somalia:762 alt.activism:19932