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Bruce Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
No place epitomises the arts and culture scene in Bulawayo better than Amakhosi Cultural Centre. The centre, whose stages have been graced by some of the finest talent that the country has ever produced, is the arts scene’s version of the city’s ceremonial home of football, Barbourfields Stadium.

Both venues are iconic, breeding some of the finest talents from the City of Kings and Queens.

While athletes sweat and toil on the lush green surface at Barbourfields Stadium, those who grace Amakhosi have shown the beauty of performing arts in their various manifestations.

Needless to say both venues are the nerve centres of the sports and arts world.

While Amakhosi can never be erased from the annals of the country’s arts history, what is worrying is that the centre has over the last few years taken a back seat.

In its heyday, the centre produced groundbreaking plays for radio while every programme that found its way to national TV with the Amakhosi stamp of approval also won public approval.

From the captivating Stitsha to the groundbreaking Friday Live at Amakhosi show, the centre has created some of Zimbabwean television’s best and most memorable moments.

With such a rich history, the last few years have been relatively quiet at the centre. However, things may be about to change as Amakhosi is set to be the centre of the newly licensed Skyz Metro FM. The station is expected to start operating before the end of the year and the tentative date to commence broadcasting is September.

For Bulawayo listeners, the new station will be a novelty as it will provide them an opportunity to enjoy local content from and about the city. For city artistes, the station gives them the chance to finally get the airplay that they have been crying for. With the spotlight on them the big question is — will they deliver?

For Amakhosi Cultural Centre, the station is expected to bring it back to life.

The centre’s founder Cont Mhlanga acknowledged that operations at the centre had come to a standstill over the last few years but he said this is set to change as the station will inject new life.

“Things had slowed down in the last few years because we felt we’d been doing the same thing for a long time. We’ve been doing this (plays and TV shows) for 25 years and I felt that a lot of things we were doing recently, we’d already done. With that being the case the radio station is a new chapter for Amakhosi,” he said.

The centre is now undergoing extensive renovations and most operations are therefore suspended until September. The changes include the renovation of the canteen which will be changed to a newsroom while the bar’s cold room will become the editing studio. The open arena which used to be used for the centre’s Plays on Sunday will be changed to a work station for producers.

Mhlanga said he was hopeful that the changes would not take a toll on the centre’s finances.

“The changes aren’t going to be expensive because the structures are already there. All we’ve to do is to remove everything and fit in what’s needed for the radio station,” he said.

The celebrated playwright said the licensing of the station was the realisation of a long time vision for him. The centre operated its own in-house radio station in the early 90s while it also initiated its own online station, ww3 as a way to test the waters before the advent of Skyz Metro FM.

He said the experience he had gained over the years, in addition to the work he had done with ZBCtv had prepared him for the task of running a radio station. While excellent programmes like Stitsha were like sprint races that captivated Zimbabwe over a short period of time, the radio station is the marathon that is set to thrill listeners for a longer and more sustained period of time.

“All that time when we had programmes on ZTV, we were learning what was needed to run a station. All those shows that people love from Amakhosi were not the real deal.

“What we’re doing now is the real show. To be a good employer you need to be employed first and we were learning all that entire time,” said Mhlanga.

He said although the radio station was the realisation of a long term dream, there was an incident that had inspired him to go for radio full throttle.

“There was a famous DJ at Montrose who changed everything for me. One day I went with a group of Bulawayo artistes to the studio and he told all of us to go out because artistes from this city stink.

“That DJ went on to popularise South African music in Bulawayo. That day was the turning point for me. I remember leaving the studio determined to run my own station,” he said.

Mhlanga who is set to meet the station’s first batch of content producers at Amakhosi on Monday morning, sent a warning to competitors, saying the centre would carry its record of excellence to radio.