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How to improve local radio stations so that all members of the community benefit

 

Community radio stations should be improved to benefit all the members of our communities

Since the born of Media Development Diversity Agency (MDDA), we have seen the mushrooming of radio stations in our communities. The MDDA was set up by an Act of Parliament (Act 14 of 2002) to enable “Historically disadvantaged communities and persons not adequately served by the media” to gain access to the media. Its beneficiaries will be community media and small commercial media.

One amongst the ways in which MDDA can achieve all these objectives is: To encourage the channeling of resources to community and small commercial media. Now, those who have been to our community radio stations like me can attest that if not all the community radio stations but some, do not comply with all that is said in the MDDA documents with regards to how radio stations should include communities in some of their decisions. I have done my Work Integrated Learning (WIL) at a community radio station, and my experience is that: Community members are not benefitting from the radio stations , nor consulted in some of the decision that are taken on behalf of their community stations. My idea is that, a community radio station should be a bridge or a cornerstone of success to the members of communities. Starting from local artists, community radio stations should promote local artists and their music free of charge.

What I have seen is that; some of our local radio stations charge local artists for live interviews when promoting their music and it should be free so that our local artists can also benefit. Community radio stations are important tools to discover hidden talents around our communities, and they should do so without any cent.

Another problem with some of our community radio stations is that; sometimes workers spend months without their salaries, now how on earth can a person work for months without getting paid? Stations get funding from MDDA every year, and they also earn income by advertising for local businesses.
At the end I have a suggestion on how some of these problems may be prevented. My suggestion is that; there should be an organization that deals directly with the finances of community radio stations, the question is how?, What should happen is that: MDDA should not pay the funding for the whole year to our community radio stations but to the organization. Now the organization should be the one  paying the money every month to the radio stations. If there is anything the station needs, then the organization must be informed. I believe there will never be a problem if this suggestion is taken into consideration.
I am very hopeful that in few years we shall see our local radio stations  be transformed and do good to our community members.

 

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