28 January 2000
Communications Minister Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, accompanied by Free State Premier Winkie Direko, today (Friday, January 28, 2000) opened four new community radio stations, which will see an additional one million mainly rural dwellers in the Free State have a voice with which to be heard.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Matsepe-Casaburri said the success of community radio stations lies in how deep it embeds its roots in its community and in how it responds to the community it serves.
"The launch of these four stations is a further step in delivery to the most disadvantaged of our people, a mechanism by which their needs can be articulated and their voices can be heard," she said.
Prior to the switch-on of the Setsoso Community Radio station in Ficksburg, Mosupatsela FM in Botshabelo, Naledi Radio in Senekal and QwaQwa Radio, there were only three community stations in the Free State with an estimated listenership of 800 000 people.
These are the first four of 36 stations which have benefited from a multi-million rand community radio support project managed by the Department of Communications in collaboration with the Kgaso Fund, the National Community Radio Forum and the Independent Media Trust. They are located in each of the nine provinces.
"A broadcaster anywhere in the world must seek to be part of the society in which it exists. In order to be of relevance as a medium of information and entertainment it must take cognisance of the historical origins, the current realities and future aspirations of its people," she said.
This applies equally equally to these new radio stations, Matsepe-Casaburri noted. "Radio is a powerful medium with the capacity to influence what people think. It is therefore important that broadcasters are responsible with the content of their broadcasts and not only look at the bottom line. This is especially true in the area of news and current affairs."
Every broadcaster in South Africa should have a mission to help South African’s relate to each other. "These new stations must show the way. They must address the needs of our emergent society. A society challenged by the demands of a rapidly globalising world, where technology is growing faster than our ability to muster it."
The community radio stations launched today should be the heart and soul of their communities – the fulfilment of their struggles and aspirations, said Matsepe-Casaburri. "I hope that you turn this opportunity into a broadcasting giant that will serve this community well through the African Century."