By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
ḼOTSHA FM 90.1 may be off air for a couple of days following a technical fault, the station has announced.
The community radio station confirmed in a notice issued on Monday that it is experiencing a signal glitch and expects to resume normal broadcasting by Wednesday.
The station said technicians are expected to attend to the problem soon.
“To our dear listeners and stakeholders, we advise you that currently we have a signal glitch at the studio. A technical team of riggers will be dispatched today or tomorrow to come and fix the issue. We expect to restore normal services by Wednesday,” the station said.
The glitch has affected broadcasts across the station’s coverage area, which stretches about 60 kilometres around Beitbridge and into parts of Musina, South Africa.
For many villagers and cross-border listeners, the station is more than just entertainment, it is a critical platform for community announcements, local news, cultural programming, and information delivered in Tshivenda.
Since going on air in February 2023 after being licensed by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, Ḽotsha FM has established itself as an important voice for marginalised communities and indigenous languages.
Operating under the slogan “Tshedza tsha lushaka,” meaning “brightness of the nation,” the station has become a cultural and information lifeline in the border district.
Listeners are now hoping services will be restored quickly to reconnect communities that depend heavily on the station’s daily broadcasts.