The free-to-air Soweto Community TV service is to launch on November 26 despite a shortage of funding required for licensing fees and administration costs among other expenses, station CEO and head of marketing Tshepo Thafeng said on Monday.
Notwithstanding insufficient funding, Thafeng said the project should be able to start airing its eight-hour-a-day broadcasts to millions of Soweto residents from Saturday November 26 as scheduled.
The channel, which has received a 24-day special-events broadcasting licence, will be on air until mid-December. The transmissions are expected to showcase new talent while serving as a trial for both the community channel and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).
“We will bring the stories of people living with HIV/Aids in Soweto into the light, we will focus on the importance of a good sensible diet for the poor and on access to treatment, and we shall open the eyes of the youth to the dangers of unsafe sex.
“We trust corporate South Africa will take this opportunity to sponsor, make donations or buy spots making a sound investment in Soweto and in the people of Soweto,” said programme and fund-raising manager Meril Rasmussen, adding that the theme of the month-long broadcasts is World Aids Day, which falls on December 1.
A long-term licence will be sought from Icasa next year, Thafeng said.
The Dobsonville shopping mall provided some funding, while the state-owned South African Broadcasting Corporation financed the studio and installation. Hundreds of volunteers from the township are expected to provide manpower. — I-Net Bridge