Govt to train community radio stations this year

Government will this year conduct training programmes for community and commercial radio station staff across the country.

Information and Broadcasting Services Deputy Minister Poniso Njeulu  says the training programme is designed to build capacity in journalists in community and commercial radio stations.

 

Mr. Njeulu said  this in Petauke yesterday in reaction to acting Explorer Radio Station manager Patrick Daka  during the Deputy minister’s visit to the community radio station.

Mr Daka  had appealed to the Ministry of Information to assist his radio station with training as most of the staff in private radio stations lack the necessary skill to effectively perform their work.

 

He said apart from challenges of limited resources, radio stations in rural areas are mostly grappling with lack of properly trained staff.

 

And Mr Njeulu has called on community radio stations in the country to be professional in discharging their duty of informing the communities about programmes that Government was implementing in their areas.

 

He said government expects media houses to write objective and factual stories as unprofessional reporting has the potential of bringing anarchy in the country.

 

The deputy minister also disclosed government‘s plans to start a programme of giving grants to community radio station as a way of helping them sustain their operations.

He said the programmers are only intended to assist community radio stations and not commercial radio station which are expected to generate their own finances.

Mr. Njeulu was in Eastern Province to tour ZANIS offices as well as radio stations in the area.