Radio Botswana- ''abbr'' RB1 is a radio station in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

operated by the

Government of Botswana The Government of Botswana often abbreviated as GOB, is the union government created by the constitution of Botswana having the executive, parliament, and the judiciary. The Seat of the Government is located in Gaborone, Botswana. The governmen ...

in the capital city

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...

. The Radio station provides news, current affairs about the country Botswana, the

culture of Botswana Besides referring to the language of the dominant people groups in Botswana, ''Setswana'' is the adjective used to describe the rich cultural traditions of the Batswana - whether construed as members of the Setswana ethnic groups or of all citi ...

, education and also provides entertainment to its followers. Radio Botswana station 1 started diffusing to its crowd in the year 1965 and during that time it was initially called the Radio Bechuanaland before the country became independent. During the time it was called Radio Bechuanaland, the station got assistance of wave transmition from the Mafikeng Veterinary, and it served the department with communication covering a circle of 20 miles. The partnership between the Mafikeng veterinary and radio Bechuanaland was to broadcast the agricultural agenda/programmes.
Radio Bechuanaland from the year 1967 was on air at a band of 90 meters every night. The station is called Seroma mowa sa Botswana in

Setswana Tswana, also known by its native name , and previously spelled Sechuana in English, is a Bantu language spoken in Southern Africa by about 8.2 million people. It belongs to the Bantu language family within the Sotho-Tswana branch of Zone ...

language.

Broadcast time

Radio Botswana broadcast still maintains broadcasting 7-day-a-week as mass medium with 18 hours each day in Setswana and English.

Slogan

''Your Station of choice''

Podcasting

Radio Botswana is also available vi
podcast
on the stations

tunein TuneIn is a global audio streaming service delivering live news, radio, sports, music, and podcasts to over 75 million monthly active users. TuneIn is operated by the company TuneIn Inc. which is based in San Francisco, California. The company ...

account.

History of Radio Bechuanaland

Radio Bechuanaland started its 24-hour (24/7) broadcast in 1965 as a primary broadcaster in Botswana. Radio Bechuanaland was developed with the aid of the

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

n citizen who was also the former police radio officer during that time by the name Peter Nel. Radio Bechuanaland served the nationals and was transmitted at an output of 500 watts. The station came on air at 3356

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

. Radio Bechuanaland started operating in a police station located in a small town called

Lobatse Lobatse is a town in south-eastern Botswana, 70 kilometres south of the capital Gaborone, situated in a valley running north towards Gaborone and close to the border with South Africa. Lobatse has a population of 29,772 as of 2022. The town is an ...

. The main focus of this station was to bring people closer to information about their small country (arts, culture and entertainment).
1968
Radio Bechuanaland became part of the Ministry of home affairs department

at the president's office which later formed the department called Information services.
1978
Radio Bechuanaland officially joined the information and broadcasting services Botswana

Radio Bechuanaland programmes in 1966

August programme
Sundays * 5:30hrs to 6:00hrs ---------------> Hospital requests * 6:00hrs to 6:10hrs --------------->

BBC news BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

* 6:10hrs to 6:15hrs ---------------> Programme parade * 6:15hrs to 6:30hrs ---------------> Music for all * 6:30hrs to 07:00hrs --------------> Church service * Weather Forecast Mondays * 3:34hrs to 4:00hrs ---------------> Soccer news * 4:00hrs to 4:10hrs --------------->

* 4:10hrs to 4:20hrs ---------------> English news * 4:20hrs to 4:30hrs ---------------> Tswana news * 4:40hrs to 4:45hrs ---------------> Women's Magazine * 4:45hrs to 7:15hrs ---------------> News of the week * Weather forecast Tuesdays * 3:30hrs to 4:00hrs ----------------> Dikopo * 4:00hrs to 4:30hrs ---------------->

* 4:30hrs to 4:40hrs ----------------> English news * 4:40hrs to 4:50hrs ----------------> Tswana news * 4:50hrs to 7:45hrs ----------------> Dipina tsa mo gae * 7;45hrs to 7:50hrs ----------------> A re ithuteng ditso * Weather forecast Wednesdays * 3:30hrs to 4:00hrs ----------------> Thuto ka mawatle * 4:00hrs to 4:10hrs ---------------->

* 4:10hrs to 4:20hrs ----------------> English news * 4:20hrs to 4:30hrs ----------------> Tswana news * 4:30hrs to 7:00hrs ----------------> Classical music * 7:00hrs to 7:15hrs ----------------> Special programme from overseas * Weather forecast Thursdays * 3:30hrs to 4:00hrs ----------------> Thuto ka mawatle * 4:00hrs to 4:10hrs ---------------->

* 4:10hrs to 4:20hrs ----------------> English news * 4:20hrs to 4:30hrs ----------------> Tswana news * 4:30hrs to 7:00hrs ----------------> Classical music * 7:00hrs to 7:15hrs ----------------> Special programme from overseas * Weather forecast Fridays * 3:30hrs to 4:00hrs ----------------> Festival/Meletso * 4:00hrs to 4:10hrs ---------------->

* 4:10hrs to 4:20hrs ----------------> English news * 4:20hrs to 4:30hrs ----------------> Tswana news * 4:30hrs to 7:15hrs ----------------> Calling all farmers/Piletso ya balemi * 7:15hrs to 7:25hrs ----------------> Talk on community development/Polelo ka tsa loago * Weather forecast Saturdays * 3:30hrs ----------------> Inola * 4:00hrs ------------------> News * 4:14hrs -------------------> Dikopo * 4:30hrs to 7:00hrs ----------------> Kakwano le kakoo

Radio Bechuanaland employees in 1966

* Mr. Bernard Palmer: Broadcasting advisor *

Ian Kennedy Ian Patrick Kennedy (born December 19, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, ...

: Chief engineer * Lucas Kgang : Moanamisi *

Joshua chelenyane Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

: Moanamisi * Gabriel Nyammbe : Morulaganyi * Douglas Moiketsi * Noel Pilane: Moanamisi Dingaan Mochila broadcasting officer

Broadcasting in Bechuanaland

Frequencies

89.9 FM

Mahalapye Mahalapye is a town located in the Central District of Botswana. The town has about 41,000 inhabitants and is situated along the main road between the capital Gaborone and the second largest city Francistown. Mahalapye has a bus station, a railw ...

Serowe Serowe (population approximately 60,000) is an urban village in Botswana's Central District. A trade and commercial centre, it is Botswana's third largest village. Serowe has played an important role in Botswana's history, as capital for the Bama ...

Palapye Palapye is a growing town in Botswana, situated about halfway between Francistown and Gaborone ( from Francistown and from Gaborone). Over the years its position has made it a convenient stopover on one of Southern Africa's principal north–sout ...

Selibe Phikwe Selebi-Phikwe (also spelt ''Selibe Phikwe'') is a mining town located in the Central District of Botswana. It had a population of 42,488 in 2022. The town is an administrative district, separate from the surrounding Central District. Mining ...

Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...

:
Maun:

References

External links

* {{coord missing, Botswana Radio stations in Botswana 1965 establishments in Bechuanaland Protectorate Tswana-language mass media