The airwaves of the North West just got a serious upgrade. Star FM 102.9, the community radio station broadcasting from Klerksdorp, has officially taken delivery of a newly digitised broadcast studio, handed over on Friday by Deputy Minister in the Presidency Kenny Morolong together with the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA).
For the thousands of listeners who tune in across the province, the upgrade means clearer sound, modern equipment and a stronger platform for the local news, community dialogue and development-focused programming that has made the station a fixture of daily life in the region.
An Investment in Local Voices
Morolong said the new studio reflects a deliberate national effort to keep community media strong. “This investment reflects government’s continued commitment to strengthening community media as an essential pillar of our democracy and ensuring that every community has access to reliable, diverse and locally relevant sources of information,” he said at the handover, according to SAnews.
What makes Star FM special is how much of the province it manages to fit into one studio. The station broadcasts in isiXhosa, Setswana, English and Afrikaans, a multilingual mix that Morolong singled out as a reflection of one of the North West’s greatest strengths: its diversity.
“While we celebrate the completion of the upgraded facility, we are reinforcing a platform that promotes diversity, dialogue and strengthens democratic participation and ensures that local voices for our communities continue to share the conversations that matter most,” the Deputy Minister said.
A Handover With Historic Timing
The timing of the celebration carried extra weight. South Africa marks Women’s Month in August, and this Sunday the country celebrates the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Women’s March to the Union Buildings, one of the defining moments of the democratic journey.
Morolong reminded those gathered that the women who marched seven decades ago still set the standard for courage. “Their call for justice, dignity and equality continues to inspire our efforts to build a society where every voice is heard,” he said.
The Klerksdorp handover forms part of a bigger national moment. This year South Africa commemorates a remarkable set of milestones all at once:
- 30 years since the adoption of the Constitution
- 50 years since the 1976 Youth Uprising
- 70 years since the 1956 Women’s March
- 60 years since the forced removals in District Six
Part of a Wider Rollout
The studio launch coincides with the provincial rollout of the Milestones of Freedom campaign, launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in June. Morolong spoke at the campaign’s provincial launch at uMfolozi TVET College in KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday before travelling to the North West for the Star FM handover, a two-province sprint that underlines how seriously the community media and heritage agenda is being taken.
For Klerksdorp, though, the story is simpler and closer to home: a much-loved local station now has the modern digital tools to keep telling the community’s stories, in the community’s languages, for years to come. That is the kind of signal worth boosting.
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
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