Bulawayo – Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda has launched a scathing attack on local radio and television content, describing it as “pedestrian” and a threat to Zimbabwe’s cultural identity, calling for a policy to protect indigenous languages.

Delivering a stinging critique at the ongoing 2027 National Pre-Budget Seminar in Bulawayo, Mudenda took aim at presenters on Star FM and ZTV, accusing them of lacking cultural awareness and using language unfit for the public domain.

“You listen to Star FM when I’m driving home – pedestrian content. Not constructive to the image of Zimbabwe, to say the least, Honourable Minister, very poor,” Mudenda said.

“And these little fellows who appear on Star FM, sometimes ZTV, they have no sense of cultural beauty. Nothing. And some of the language is very, very unpalatable to hear. There are certain words you cannot use in the public domain, and you must respect the listeners accordingly.”

The Speaker did not stop at matters of taste, warning that the erosion of indigenous languages posed an existential threat to national identity. He urged the Minister of Finance ProfessorMthuli Ncube to collaborate with the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Recreation, as well as both education ministers, to craft a policy that promotes national pride in mother tongues.

“ZTV and our radio should be used to brand Zimbabwe, brand Zimbabwe. Now, what is worrying me at the moment is the use of these entities where our mother tongue is not respected,” he said.

“Honourable Minister, can you imagine what will happen in the next 50 years? If we follow, we have the language. So, they should appear and speak our beautiful mother tongue, so that our mother tongues are preserved for posterity.”

Mudenda invoked the spectre of linguistic homogenisation, warning that without intervention, Zimbabwe’s diverse languages would be reduced to a single, degraded hybrid.

“Our Shona will be Chiraparapa, our Tonga will be Chiraparapa, our Kalanga will be Chiraparapa. Zimbabwe cannot identify, or afford to identify itself as Chiraparapa, linguistic nation. That is to stop,” he said.

“Language defines our dignity. Language defines our identity. You don’t define yourself when you talk about “ukundisendera” meaning i am sending you. This must stop.”

The Speaker’s remarks are set to reignite debate over broadcasting standards and language policy in Zimbabwe, with his call for a coordinated ministerial response placing the issue squarely on the government’s pre-budget agenda.