Storm disrupts private radio stations' transmission

ISAAC PINIELO
Correspondent | Monday December 6, 2010 00:00

 

Residents of Francistown have gone almost a month without accessing Duma FM, Yarona FM and Gabz FM broadcasts due to the damage caused to their satellite transmitter situated at the top of Nyangabgwe Hill.

However, government radio stations - Radio Botswana and RB2 - were not affected by the thunderstorm that left a massive trail of destruction in its wake. Although some listeners have contacted the radio stations to complain about the sudden loss of transmission, many seem to be unaware of what exactly has happened. 'Last week I tried tuning in to my favourite radio station, Yarona FM, and discovered that it was not on air. I just assumed that there was a problem with the signals but now I realise that the problem is persisting,' said Mmoloki Amos, a resident of Aerodrome Township. Another resident, Boitshepo Santu, said she was not aware that there was an interruption in private radio stations' broadcasts to the city. She said: 'I never noticed it since I rarely listen to the radio.'Dumi Lopang of Kemonokeng Holdings, a company that was formed to run the transmission of the three private radio stations, said he is well aware of the disruption caused to the broadcasting of the radio stations to Francistown.

He reiterated that the disruption was due to the damage done to their satellite antenna at Nyangabgwe Hill. He said at first it was not easy for them to identify the cause of the problem as they assumed that it had been caused by the sudden power cut that occurred during the thunderstorm. Lopang, however, admitted that there has been a delay in repairing the damage, noting that it was due to the fact that their engineer was still in mourning following his father's death. He therefore apologised to the residents of Francistown for the interruption of radio transmission and promised that the situation would be brought under control.  'We would like to assure our listeners that our engineer has gone to the site where the destruction took place and we are certain that the problem will be solved towards the end of this week,' he said. Lopang also pointed out that repairing the antenna was quite a complicated task as it involves the use of many mechanisms. Gabz FM programmes and technical manager, Kenneth 'Cutrite' Moeng has also acknowledged that news satellite transmitters and dishes have been installed and that configuration is in progress.

'As we speak, our engineer is putting a few loose ends together so we hope that Francistown listeners will soon be able to listen to their favourite stations again,' he stated.