Deputy Minister in the Presidency Nomasonto Motaung and the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) will on Friday unveil brand new state-of-the-art broadcast studios in Maputaland in Jozini, KwaZulu-Natal.

The new studios are for Community Radio107.6 FM.

It broadcasts in isiZulu (75%), Xitsonga (2%), Siswati (3%) and English (20%). Maputaland Community Radio's pay offline is "Gqama laph' khona," in English it means, shine wherever you are.

The station was founded by three community members who were affiliated to an NGO called Maputaland Youth Development Agency.

The team wanted a community radio platform that would address the communication gaps between the community and the local government structures.

The challenges that were identified were poor road infrastructure, poor telecommunication services and poor cellular network services.

The community was completely closed off from getting news and information from the rest of the country and did not have a community newspaper circulating in the area.

The illiteracy numbers were very high as people were starved of information and reading material.

The IBA granted the Maputaland Community radio station a one-month trial basis broadcasting license in December 2000.

The radio station was finally granted a four-year license on 15 June 2002. It has been on air since then and has stood the test of time in the sector which is plagued by compliance and other management issues.

"As the MDDA celebrates 20 years of diversifying community media, we will also celebrate the milestone of Maputaland CRS as one of the first projects to be funded by the MDDA in 2005/6 financial year," the MDDA said in a statement.

The new state-of the art studios will elevate the quality of broadcasting, making it appealing to potential partners and propel Maputaland Community Radio 107.6 FM to even greater heights.