By Amin Kef (Ranger)
In celebrating the Centenary of Radio in Africa President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, on the 13th February,2023 delivered a statement on World Radio Day 2023 on the theme, “Radio and Peace”.
The SLAJ President maintained that World Radio Day is a day that UNESCO encourages the world to acknowledge and appreciate the role and importance of radio in everyday lives, in the prevention of conflict and promoting peace and national cohesion, and the development of nations.
He stated how the year 2023 marks the Centenary of Radio in Africa and that Radio is still the dominant mass-medium in Africa in general; and Sierra Leone in particular, with the widest geographical reach, and the highest audiences.
The President revealed that In Sierra Leone today, the new media- particularly Facebook- accounts for more than 500 to 700,000 users maintaining that though that number is increasing it is still less than 10 percent of the population, whereas radio accounts for 80% of listenership in the population.
He argues that it is evident that radio is still the most pervasive (and cheapest) medium of mass communication in Sierra Leone adding that according to the Independent Media Commission (IMC) there are 209 registered radio stations in the country, including community radio stations.
Ahmed Sahid Nasralla informed that as the theme for this year’s commemoration is “Radio and Peace”, SLAJ, the Independent Radio Network (IRN) and the IMC are working with donor partners to effectively use radio to educate and sensitize voters, provide credible information to the public, and ensure peaceful national elections before, during and after 24th June 2023.
He disclosed that SLAJ, IRN, IMC, and the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) are also putting together a number of training programs for radio journalists across the country on conflict and gender sensitive reporting, elections reporting, and strengthening the governance and management structures of community radio stations to focus on independent journalism in the interest of their communities.
The SLAJ President revealed how they are working together to position radio, especially community radios, in a way that it becomes the most credible source of information around the upcoming national elections.
He pointed out that when abandoned or neglected or mismanaged, radio can indeed fuel conflict admonishing how we must invest in radio and use it as a tool to inform, educate, mobilize participation, prevent conflict and promote peace and national cohesion by ensuring the elections are free, fair, transparent, and credible.
“Over the last three decades, we have seen the role radio has played in significant milestones in our sociopolitical history; during the rebel war, the restoration of democratic governance, reconciliation and peacebuilding era, the increase in democratic participation and the change of regime during peaceful elections, the Ebola outbreak, natural disasters, and the fight against COVID-19 amongst others,” he stated adding how it should be noted that had it not been for the existence of radio the gains made by the nation over this period would have been an arduous task, if not impossible.
The SLAJ President intimated that, however, generating adequate resources to ensure sustainability has always been a challenge for the media industry, particularly for community radios. He said plans are currently underway to look into that concern to explore the possibilities of more Government and private sector investment in the media adding that Gender mainstreaming is also an issue that they are concerned about as an Association.
Ahmed Sahid Nasralla stated how efforts to support and encourage more women folks to be involved in radio are yielding positive results as women are now becoming owners of radio stations.
He paid tribute to the numerous men and women, and young people who are serving in the radio industry amidst challenges of inadequate resources; yet are committed to ensuring that their audiences are kept informed with credible information. He congratulated all and expressed hope that they will continue to strive for excellence and keep serving diligently as they perform their professional role during the elections.
