A West Rand community station gets a R2m studio, and a job before the elections
Rainbow FM, which broadcasts in six languages to more than 100,000 listeners, received new equipment from the Media Development and Diversity Agency.
Roodepoort — Rainbow FM, a community station known as the "Voice of Hope" on Johannesburg's West Rand, has a new broadcasting studio worth R2.15 million, SAnews reports.
Deputy Minister in the Presidency Kenny Morolong handed over the equipment, funded by the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), on Friday. "A modern studio is more than bricks, cables and equipment," he said. "It is a platform for community expression."
About the station
- It serves Roodepoort, Randfontein, Krugersdorp, Kagiso and Ennerdale, and reaches an estimated 100,000+ listeners, on 90.7 FM and online.
- It broadcasts in English, isiZulu, Afrikaans, Tshivenda, Sesotho and Sepedi, so communities can tell their stories in their own languages.
- It is a religious community station, and the MDDA also supported it in 2018 and 2024.
A call ahead of 4 November
With local government elections on 4 November, Morolong asked the station to take voter education "into homes, taxis, workplaces and communities", and to reach first-time voters in particular. "Democracy is not a spectator sport," he said.
MDDA board member Jayshree Pather called the handover a proud milestone and said the agency would keep supporting community radio. Local ward councillor Caled Finn, who has worked with the station for many years, said the upgrade would let it serve its people better.
Source: SAnews, 16 October 2026.
