Why new radio station without national coverage?

Nearly 45% of the rural areas in Zimbabwe do not have access to radio signals and the assertion that radio is the medium of Africa seems to hold very little, if any water if the situation in Zimbabwe is anything to go by. However, the Minister of Information, Dr Sikhanyiso Ndhlovu, on the 6th of April, announced that the government has released $8.5bn for the establishment of a short-wave radio station in Gweru, which will tell the Zimbabwean story to Zimbabweans

Areas that do not receive local radio transmission are those close to the borders, like for example the whole stretch of area from Lupane to Victoria Falls, Beitbridge, Plumtree, Nyamapanda, Binga, Chiredzi and parts of Mberengwa. People in these areas listen to foreign stations, for instance, people in Lupane listen to ZambeziFM and other short-wave radio stations whose content are likely to compromise our territorial sovereignty and integrity.

These short-wave radio stations have been at the receiving end of government criticism, e.g. Studio 7, Short-wave radio Africa, Voice of the People, as imperialist, anti-government and western propaganda machines. The attacks however, leave many commentators wondering at the logic of increasing the number of stations in the country when there is no nationwide coverage. There have also been talks of why the government is busy attacking foreign radio stations for “telling our story in their own way,” instead of doing their homework and make sure that they (the government), “tell our story in our own way,” and tell it to everyone.

Currently there are four radio stations in the country i.e. Radio Zimbabwe, National FM, Spot FM, and Power FM, all of which are under the national broadcaster Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation directly controlled by government. Recently there have been talks of a proposed fifth radio station to be launched in Gweru.
This station according to the Minister of Information, Doctor Sikhanyiso Ndhlovu should tell the Zimbabwean story to Zimbabweans, but the question is how can you tell the Zimbabwean story to Zimbabweans when you cannot access them?

What then is wrong in listening to foreign stations if one cannot access local stations?

By Mufudzi Shumba (Level 2, semester 2, Bsc Media and Society Studies, MSU)