The Voice of America has put a new FM station on the air in the Central African Republic.
Based in the capital Bangui at 101.7 MHz, the 24-hour station will carry a mix of French and English programs produced in Washington, including “Daybreak Africa,” “Africa News Tonight,” “African Music Mix,” “Aujourd’hui L’Afrique Centrale” and “Le Monde Aujourd’hui – Edition pour L’Afrique Centrale.” Other popular VOA French programs include “Washington Forum,” L’Amérique et Vous” and “Antenne Libre,” VOA stated in a release.
The VOA’s French-to-Africa Service has been in operation since 1960, targeting Francophone sub-Saharan countries. The FM station joins seven similar VOA stations in Africa.
According to VOA Executive Editor and Acting Director Steve Redisch, the launching of the new station “marks another important step in providing broader VOA coverage to sub-Saharan Africa.”
The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960, according to the CIA World Factbook. President Francois Bozize, a general, took office after a coup in 2003 and was affirmed in a 2005 election.
