The lights literally went out for community radio station Makhado FM on Tuesday. This followed after the Makhado Municipality at long last cut the electricity supply to the premises. Rumour has it that the station owes the municipality more than R83 000 in outstanding bills.

The electricity cut is the latest in a series of issues that the radio station has been battling with. The events at the station resemble a dramatic soap opera, with station managers appearing in court, boards not being recognised and presenters resigning every week. It is a muddy puddle of accusations, counter-accusations and power struggles.

The spokesperson for the Makhado Municipality, Mr Louis Bobodi, confirmed on Tuesday  that the electricity had been cut due to non-payment. He said that, according to the municipality's policy, if a client exceeded a certain credit limit, services were cut off. "Like any other client, Makhado FM owes the municipality for electricity and, like everybody else, they have to pay," he said.

When contacted for comment, the CEO of Luonde Media Resources, Mr Junior Ramovha, said our reporter should speak to the station manager, Mr Makonde Mbedzi. Mbedzi refused to comment and promised to phone our reporter back, but this did not happen.

The suspended station manager, Mr Moses Muneri, said that he had been made aware of the problem and he had already reported it to ICASA. "Things are not well at the station. I am surprised to hear that the management had failed to pay the electricity bill, since the station has adverts that are running on air every day," said Muneri.

The national spokesperson of ICASA, Mr Paseka Maleka, said that his organisation would not get involved with the station's debt. He said the station was required to be on air for all the hours they had been licensed for. By law, the station had to contact ICASA and provide reasons why they were off the air. "I just do not know if the station did contact ICASA or not, because I am currently not in the office," said Maleka.

At the time of going to press, the radio station was still off air.

While the darkness is continuing at the station's premises, the spotlight is moving from one court case to the other, involving the main role players at the station. Two weeks ago, Junior Ramovha and Makonde Mbedzi had to appear in court, facing accusations that they had defamed the good reputation of ousted station manager Takalani Khomola. Khomola, on his part, had to defend himself against accusations that he had stolen the radio station's property. A charge of theft was also laid against the suspended station manager, Moses Muneri, stating that he had removed a transmitter.

Moses Muneri appeared before the Louis Trichardt District Court again last Friday to defend himself against the theft allegations. The case was postponed to 3 July and his bail of R2 000 was extended. Whether there are any merits in the theft charge is debatable. Sources from within the radio station are convinced that the accusations against Muneri form part of a plot to remove him from the radio station.

Muneri said this week that the truth would come out and that he would return to the station as its legitimate station manager.

The issue of outstanding debt is haunting the station. It was previously reported that Luonde Media Resources, the license holder, owes the landlord more than R800 000. The final amount could not be established, but it was clear that the station is in dire financial straits. Presenters have not been paid for quite some time and most of them are expected to work for free.

Another presenter, Dakalo "Tshionyolosi" Muvhali, resigned as a result of the fact that he was not paid. "I was promised a salary of R6 000 by Junior Ramovha, who approached me while I was working at Tzaneen FM. I trusted the man, but to my surprise I did not get any payment at the end of the month," he said. Muvhali said that he then decided to go back to Tzaneen FM.

Most of the listeners expressed their disappointment with Muvhali's resignation. "He was one of the best presenters at the station," they said.