COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS MEET TO SAFEGUARD OWN FUTURE

Six of the Northern Cape’s community radio stations are meeting in Upington to select a new executive for the provincial chapter of the National Community Radio Forum (NCRF). The conference gets underway today and will continue until this Saturday, 12 May. Senior managers and board members from the six stations will be the key delegates at the gathering.

NCRF Northern Cape’s secretary Thabang Pusoyabone says those to be elected will be charged with the responsibility of taking the sector forward. “The community radio stations that are part of NCRF Northern Cape will take stock of the progress made by the sector, challenges, the successes, and pave a platform for the emergence of a sector roadmap for the next five years.

“The conference is expected to be addressed by MEC Norman Shushu and will also be attended by representatives from Government Communications Information System, Media Development and Diversity Agency, Office of the Premier, Department of Communications amongst other strategic partners.”

NCRF Northern Cape chairperson Garth Damerell is expected to hand over new transmission equipment to the six stations to the tune of two-hundred and forty thousand rand (R240 000), estimated at forty thousand rand individually (R40 000). A new web portal www.ncrfnortherncape.org.za and a hardcopy and softcopy magazine will be unveiled at the conference.

Meanwhile, The Minister of Communications Nomvula Mokonyane was last month forced to intervene in the wake of an impasse between community radio stations affiliated to NCRF and signal distributor Sentech, after the latter threatened to mute the stations for owing it.

Discussions in finding solutions to what the Minister responded to with; “developing long-term and sustainable fiscal framework for community media that will promote the growth of the sector and enhance its ability to raise revenue and improve governance in the sector,” are ongoing.

Without the Minister’s intervention two Northern Cape stations, Kurara FM that is Kuruman based and Radio NFM that enjoys frequency in a number of Namaqualand towns, would have been affected.

Despite Kimberley’s Radio Teemaneng Stereo (RTS) having been besieged by board member squabbling and alleged non-payment of presenters over the years, it was not a Sentech offending station. The other three stations affiliated to NCRF Northern Cape are Radio Riverside of Upington which is acclaimed for being businesslike on air and through its management, Kaboesna of Calvinia and Radio Ulwazi of De Aar.

The province’s other known community radio stations that are isolated from and not in the same spirit with NCRF Northern Cape are; Orania FM of the whites-only enclave of Orania near Hopetown, Kimberley’s Christian faith orientated Revival FM and the SABC’s XK-FM which airs to the San community of Platfontein on the outskirts of Kimberley.

About Thabo Mothibi

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Thabo Mothibi is a former broadcast journalist (TV and Radio) – with specialist reporting experience; SABC Political/Parliamentary and TRC Teams over a period of five years (1995 to 2000).

One key foreign assignment - is the 11-nation African Connection Rally – overland journey from Africa’s northern-most pole in the coastal Tunisian city of Bizerte to the southern-most pole in South Africa’s Cape Agulhas. From the journalistic years, Thabo then delved into Government media liaison and serving two former Ministers and three MECs. He became the Northern Cape Provincial Government’s first department based Communications Director at Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development - 2008-2010 – where he also served as Head of Ministry from 2003 – 2008.

As a former anti-apartheid activist, his political background and professional training aided him in spearheading the Northern Cape ANC’s 2004 National Elections media and publicity campaign and that of the 2006 Local Government Elections.

Whilst based in Waterkloof in Pretoria -2010 to end 2011, he consulted for Manstrat Agricultural Intelligence, then returned to the Northern Cape in 2012 to date, to consult independently and pursue other entrepreneurial interests in media and communications through KwaVuko Communications and Marketing.

Thabo Mothibi obtained his NQF7 through Wits University’s Graduate School of Public and Development Management (P&DM) in Johannesburg, a Unilever Mandela Rhodes Academy for Marketing and Communications Academy (UMRA). The goal of the NQF7 programme was to educate and train public and private sector professional communicators and marketers in government communications..

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