PANOS Institute Southern Africa has urged radio stations not to allow themselves to be used as voices for certain political candidates and shut out others.
During the launch of the joint NGOCC and PANOS-Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) supported project to Kasempa Radio, executive director Vusumuzi Sifile said PANOS expected radio stations to provide a neutral platform for different stakeholders to voice out on the electoral processes.
Sifile said community radio stations were platforms where citizens could access information for the August 12 general elections.
He said radio stations should provide an equal platform for all political candidates, not being mouthpieces for a section of political actors.
“A community radio station should not be a voice for one candidate or political party and shut out other candidates or political parties. Community radio stations have an important role to play as watchdogs, protecting the community from misinformation and other undesirable, misleading and manipulative content. It should effectively play its role as the watchdog, and sniff out any toxic content that may endanger the community,” he said. “When it comes to elections, it is not only citizens that need information. Even candidates need information on what the citizens’ concerns are. ECZ (Electoral Commission of Zambia) also needs information and the police also needs information to enable them to respond correctly and on time.”
Sifile said PANOS holds community media as an important platform for citizens to speak out and engage each other and also engage the leaders.
He said community radio stations were platforms for accountability and could influence accountability in the use of public resources.
Sifile said PANOS would engage Kasempa Radio to establish radio listening clubs in all parts of the community.
He noted that while Kasempa had 22 wards, there were only 10 radio listening clubs.
Sifile said there should be at least one club in each ward so that there was equal representation. Some of the clubs, Sifile said, should represent special interest groups such as marketeers, transporters, out of school children, among others.
And Kasempa acting district commissioner Collins Masumba said lack of information and knowledge was affecting people’s wellbeing.
He said because of lack of information, some people think COVID-19 was for people in town and not rural areas.
Masumba said it was lack of information that was making people think like that.
He said it was good that Kasempa had a community radio.
He noted that other districts had no community radio stations and information dissemination had been a challenge.
Masumba said in most rural areas, there was lack of information and hence poor participation in most activities that the government would want to introduce.
He said looking at the 2016 general elections, there was a very big variance between the number of registered voters and the number of people who voted.
Masumba said this was because of voter apathy.
He said for this year as the country heads to the polls, information would reach the electorate because of the Panos project.
Masumba said the district office would not allow a situation where there would be abuse of the radio station.
He said it would not be a forum of one individual attacking another.
Masumba said the station should allow free participation for the betterment of every one in Kasempa, something that will build and not tear them.
He said government departments would make use of the radio station to disseminate information.
Masumba hoped such initiatives would be extended to other districts.
And Kasempa station manager Albert Museneni said the station which was fully owned by the community had been operational since September 2009.
Museneni said the station also had radio listening clubs which had been established with the help of PANOS.