By Mabinty M. Kamara
Community Radio Station managers and media rights campaigners have condemned a move by the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) to review the status of community radios operating in cities.
NATCOM intends to convert all community radio stations operating in cities to commercial radio stations. This means that they will have to pay more than they currently pay to the regulator.
NATCOM said the move was necessary given changes in demographics in cities over the years.
According to the Commission, the decision is based on two factors: population density and coverage of the station. Wherever the population is over 10, 000, any radio station operating there cannot be considered as a community radio.
Momodu Sawah, Director of regulations at NATCOM, told radio station managers last week that the decision is expected to take effect in December.
But this, according to radio station managers and media campaigners, does not in any way make sense as the whole concept of community radio is built on both geographical and community interest, hence there should be no limit as long as a station operates within the precepts of the law.
The issue was discussed by the stakeholders at a routine peer review meeting of newspaper editors and managers of radio stations on Tuesday.
At the stakeholders’ meeting were representatives from the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), as well as radio stations.
Francis Sowa, board chairman of MRCG, told Politico that community radio stations have been duly given license to operate as community radios. Therefore, he noted, any decision to review their status will mean that they will have to review the Independent Media Code of Conduct which has the statutory mandate.
Sowa, who is also the representative of SLAJ at IMC, added that as per the Independent Media Code of Conduct, it is the IMC that has the mandate to state who should operate as what, quoting section 18 sub sections 3 of the IMC Act.
“Be it that the decision is based on population density or that community radios allegedly operates as commercial radios, they still will have to review the IMC Act,” he stated, stressing that NATCOM cannot go ahead with such decision without consulting IMC.
Civil society activist Sallieu Kamara of the Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD) said the move makes no sense.
“In the concept of community radio, its limitations are with the interest groups,” he said.
Kamara, who is the Director of Communication at NMJD, was involved in the creation of community radios in the aftermath of the civil war in Sierra Leone. He said a key reason for the development of community radios was to provide a voice for the masses and give community people access to participate in national issues.
“The role of community radios is critical in community development. As it is used as a tool to preach peace, do voter education in electioneering processes, popularize policies and get the people pour out their views on national issues,” he said.
Ahmed G. Kallon, Station Manager, Eastern Community Radio, believes that the decision is aimed at stifling the contents produced by community radios. He also said he believes that NATCOms move is influenced by the fact that they run adverts and obituaries.
“If they do not want community radio stations to be accepting adverts, government should subsidized community radios as it is done in other countries,” he said.
The stakeholders say they intend to take the issue up with President Julius Maada Bio at a pending meeting to present the new SLAJ president to the government.
© 2019 Politico Online
