VOA标准英语2011--Zimbabwe to Award 2 Commercial Radio Licenses

Zimbabwe to Award 2 Commercial Radio Licenses¹

 

The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Authority has held the first of four public hearings to scrutinize² applications for two commercial radio licenses. But there are concerns the licenses have already been awarded to allies of President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, and that the hearings are a sham³.

KissFM was the first of four finalists for two commercial radio licenses to present their bid in a public hearing held in Harare. But CEO Musi Khumalo was unwilling⁴ to speak about the bid, or what the company hopes to achieve if their application is successful.

"Really I feel so bad. I am one of you, but this is a bid under consideration so it might not be appropriate for us to speak. Not right now," said Khumalo.

KissFM would be funded by regional banking⁵ group BancABC, and bank CEO Douglas Munatsi would be a major KissFM shareholder⁶.

Another applicant⁷ is Radio VOP (Voice of the People), which currently broadcasts two hour-long shows daily into Zimbabwe on Radio Netherlands Worldwide. The third applicant is ABC, widely believed in Zimbabwe to be a project of the Mugabe family. And the last is the state-owned Zimbabwe Papers group which publishes The Herald⁸, a newspaper aligned⁹ to President Mugabe's ZANU-PF.

Zimbabweans listen to a radio for an announcement of election results in Umguza April 1, 2008 (file photo).

Some observers say the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has already decided¹⁰ to award the two licenses to ABC and Zimbabwe Papers. They say this would make a mockery of a requirement in Zimbabwe's 2008 global political agreement to open the airwaves to independent operators. That agreement led to the establishment of Zimbabwe's unity¹¹ government.

However, BAZ chairman Tafataona Mahoso says the process is being conducted in terms of the law and that the decision is yet to be made.

"It is a public process and it is done according to law. As soon as we finish the adjudication, the adjudication begins after the last hearing and then we do the adjudication. This is one of four I think shortlisted and they are publicly known," said Mahoso.

The hearing was disrupted several times by a ZANU-PF-aligned group calling themselves Wealth to the Youth. Spokesman Thomas Katewera told VOA young people should be the ones who get the licenses.

"Young journalists should be the ones who actually get licenses to go into this sector¹² as an empowerment move," said Katewera. "This is what is bringing us here. To lobby for our young journalists who are members of youth, to enter this, and licenses should be given to them. This is what we are talking about."

Some observers say it is unlikely the licenses will be issued before next year. Once that happens, it will break the monopoly of the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.

1 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

2 scrutinize   

n.详细检查，细读

参考例句：

• Her purpose was to scrutinize his features to see if he was an honest man.她的目的是通过仔细观察他的相貌以判断他是否诚实。
• She leaned forward to scrutinize their faces.她探身向前，端详他们的面容。

3 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

4 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

5 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

6 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

7 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

8 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

9 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。