Radio RSA: The Voice of South Africa was the

international broadcasting International broadcasting, in a limited extent, began during World War I, when German and British stations broadcast press communiqués using Morse code. With the severing of Germany's undersea cables, the wireless telegraph station in Nauen was ...

service of the Republic of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It was run by the

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

from its inception on 1 May 1966 until its demise in 1992 following the end of the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

era. Radio RSA broadcast news and opinion programming that was mostly pro-government, and the message of its broadcasts reflected those views. Following the fall of the apartheid government, the service was renamed Channel Africa.

Management

Radio RSA, as part of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, was originally part of the Department of Information, which was established after the National Party's victory in the

1948 South African general election General elections were held in South Africa on 26 May 1948. They represented a turning point in the country's history, as despite receiving just under half of the votes cast, the United Party and its leader, incumbent Prime Minister Jan Smu ...

. The Department of Information's task was to promote the image of South Africa internationally and reduce criticism of apartheid. After the

Muldergate scandal The Muldergate scandal, also known as the Information Scandal or Infogate, was a South African political scandal involving a secret propaganda campaign conducted by the apartheid Department of Information. It centred on revelations about the Depa ...

of the late 1970s, the functions of the Department of Information were split. The Department of Foreign Affairs took over control of Radio RSA. The annual budget was about 20 million rands. In 1976, Radio RSA transmitted for 36 hours a week. Radio RSA broadcast in 12 languages in 1976 including English, French, Portuguese, and Afrikaans. In 1984, 11 languages were broadcast.

Facilities

The studios of Radio RSA were initially located at Broadcast House, Commissioner Street in Johannesburg, relocating to Auckland Park in 1976. Additional facilities were located in Bloemendal near

Meyerton, Gauteng Meyerton is a small town lying 18 km north of Vereeniging in Gauteng, South Africa. It is situated in the Midvaal Local Municipality (of which it is the capital) in the Sedibeng District Municipality. History Meyerton was established in 1891 ...

. Transmitters operated at 100, 250 and 500 kW power.

Identification

The station identification in English was “"This is Radio RSA, the Voice of South Africa, from Johannesburg", with similar announcements in other languages: "Ici R. RSA, la Voix de l'Afrique de Sud". In 1992, following the fall of apartheid and the election of an ANC government, the service was renamed Channel Africa.''South Africa Yearbook''
South African Communication Service, 1995, page 292

References

International broadcasters 1966 establishments in South Africa 1992 disestablishments in South Africa Radio stations in Johannesburg Radio stations established in 1966 Radio stations disestablished in 1992 Defunct radio stations in South Africa State media {{SouthAfrica-radio-station-stub