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Additional News Releases

Washington, D.C., June 28, 2001 - The Voice of America (VOA) will broadcast round-the-clock on 104.3 FM in Kigali, Rwanda and on 102.7 FM in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.  The newly signed agreements for the FM frequencies will give city residents convenient access to VOA programs in English, French, Swahili, and Kinyarwanda/Kirundi. 

VOA’s agreements for 24-hour frequencies in Kigali and Brazzaville follow the recent launch of VOA’s 107.5 FM in Nairobi, Kenya.  Due to close proximity, the Brazzaville 102.7 FM station will also be heard in neighboring city Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.  VOA’s expanding presence on local stations throughout Africa will continue to be paired with the longtime short-wave broadcasts to the continent.

Voice of America Director Sanford Ungar, who was in Brazzaville and Kigali for the signing ceremonies said, “VOA FM broadcasts in these capital cities are a major expansion of our network in Africa.  We are thrilled to be able to reach out to these communities and, in particular, to a more youthful and urban audience through FM radio.” 

Both 104.3 FM in Kigali and 102.7 FM in Brazzaville will air a specially tailored mix of VOA programs, including news, information and cultural features from VOA’s English, French, Swahili, and Kinyarwanda/Kirundi services. Along with popular radio and television shows like Straight Talk Africa, Africa Journal, and Music Time in Africa, the program line-up will include VOA News Now, VOA’s 24-hour U.S. and world news service; Special English, which uses a 1,500 word vocabulary and a slow rate of speech to provide news and information for non-native English speakers; and Talk to America, VOA’s daily worldwide talk show in which listeners call in to join the discussion.

The Voice of America is a multimedia broadcasting service funded by the U.S. Government. VOA broadcasts over 900 hours of news, informational, educational, and cultural programming every week to some 91 million worldwide.  Programs are produced and broadcast in English and 52 other languages.

For additional information, please contact the Office of External Affairs at (202) 619-2538 or send email to pubaff@voa.gov.