Established shortly after the country’s independence in 1975, Radio Moçambique is the only nationwide radio broadcaster in Mozambique. It is by far the most popular radio station in Mozambique.
Media assets
Radio: National Antenna, Maputo City Radio, Radio Maputo Corridor, EP Maputo, EP Gaza, EP Inhambane, EP Manica, EP Sofala, Radio City Beira, EP Tete, EP Zambezia, EP Nampula, EP Cabo Delgado, EP Niassa
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
RM was established as a public media company by Decree 18/1994. According to this decree, RM is governed by a Council of Administration that consists of five members. The council’s chair, who has significant power in the station’s governing structure, is appointed by the government (Council of Ministers). The other members are appointed by the ministry in charge of communications upon nominations from the same ministry (two members), the ministry of finance (one member), and the staff at RM (one member).
Source of funding and budget
RM is fully dependent on state subsidies. According to local journalists and experts, the government subsidies have generally accounted for roughly 80% of the station’s annual budget. The rest is generated through advertising sales. In 2015 the radio station received some MZN 434.6m (US$ 10.7m) from the state budget, according to the latest available data. RM, for many years, has not disclosed any data about its financial performance.
In 2023, RM had a total income of MZN 972m (US$ 15m), of which nearly 11% was generated from sales revenues, according to a financial report issued by IGEPE, the body in charge of monitoring state-run companies in Mozambique. The rest was accounted for by various subsidies and radio license fees paid by households to the country’s flagship electricity company. The largest part of the budget came from a state subsidy worth more than 46% of the RM’s total income.
Editorial independence
Although RM is known for its critical political debates, the station is visibly favoring the government, according to an independent assessment from 2015. The situation has not changed much since then, according to local journalists and experts.
Although Mozambican law (the decree 18/94) states that public media are obliged to exercise their duties free from interference from any party or external influence that may compromise its independence, this is not the situation in reality as RM is visibly favoring the government.
No domestic statute and no independent assessment mechanism to validate the editorial independence of RM have been identified.
June 2024