Speech by Deputy Minister in the Presidency Kenny Morolong (MP) on the studio handover to VUT FM in Vanderbijlpark
Programme Director,
Leadership of VUT FM
Community members and listeners
Representatives of the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA),
Distinguished guests,
It is an honour to join you here today for the official studio handover to VUT FM. This moment represents a meaningful investment in the voice, identity, and cohesion of young people and the wider community of Vanderbijlpark.
For listeners throughout the broader Vaal community, the station serves as a vital bridge across the information divide, truly embodying its hashtag, #InformingMinds. As we open this new chapter at the station, we celebrate this studio as the new home for 'The Rhythm of the River,' anchoring a powerful platform that will continue to inspire, educate, and unite us all.
Community radio stations such as VUT FM across our great nation occupy a unique and powerful space in our democratic society. It is not just about transmitting sound over airwaves, it is about connecting people. It is about ensuring that communities are not only informed but that they are heard. In many ways, community radio such as VUT Radio are the heartbeat of our communities.
Through localised programming, they reflect challenges on the ground, celebrate the achievements of our communities, and gives expression to hopes and aspirations. Community radio station like VUT FM serve as a conduit where local stories are told by local voices. It provides access to information in languages and formats that resonate with the people it serves. It creates opportunities for dialogue, participation, and accountability. In doing so, we strengthen our democracy at its most fundamental level which is at a community level.
Programme Director,
I am particularly pleased that VUT FM serves as a vital platform for young people in this community, actively bringing their unique challenges and triumphs to the forefront of public discussion. In just over three weeks, our nation will in June, widely recognised as Youth Month mark the 50th Anniversary of the 16 June 1976 Soweto Uprising. This event signalled a turning point in our nation’s history as it immensely contributed in advancing the cause of freedom, justice and equality, affirming that young people are drivers of transformation.
The youth of 1976 took on the brute force of the apartheid state at great personal risk and triumphed. Their brave actions sparked such a national outcry and bolstered international support for the struggle against apartheid.
Their activism enabled us to live in a society where all are valued and has paved the way for the current generation of young people to tackle the many pressing challenges that we face as a nation. Today the call goes out for young people of our nation to become agents of change in their social circles and communities to help us defeat social ills such as the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality.
If we are to overcome these challenges, we need young people themselves to rise up to turn around this situation. Unlike the generation of 1976 this time around young people have a government that cares and wants to see them succeed. Young people are encouraged to engage in building an inclusive society and participate in our national development. We need their innovative ideas and skills in creating more jobs and improving the standard of living.
The role that VUT FM plays becomes increasingly significant. By providing youth with a dedicated and powerful voice, the station empowers them to express their ideas, confront local issues, and drive meaningful societal change. It acts as an inspiring catalyst, motivating young minds to reach their full potential within a country that deeply values its youth as the ultimate future of the nation.
Through its engaging campus and community programming, VUT FM reminds young listeners that they are the heartbeat of change, inspiring them to uplift their communities and build a better tomorrow. I am told that this station functions as an essential training ground for upcoming media professionals while serving the local campus and broader Vaal community with a mix of talk, news, and hit urban music
Ladies & Gentlemen,
Today’s handover reflects the important work being done by government, in partnership with institutions like the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), to advance community media across our country. Over the years, our government has made deliberate efforts to support and strengthen community media. This includes providing funding, infrastructure, training, and regulatory support to ensure that community radio and other platforms can operate sustainably and effectively. Through these interventions, we are working to ensure media diversity, expand access to information, and empower communities to tell their own stories.
The MDDA has been at the forefront of this work supporting the growth of community and small commercial media, especially in underserved areas. Their efforts have helped ensure the media landscape reflects the full diversity of South African society. The handover of your new studio today is not an isolated event, it is part of a broader national commitment to building an inclusive, participatory, and people-centred media environment.
In Conclusion,
As we step forward into this new era for VUT FM, let us remember that this new studio is more than just walls and microphones. It is the heartbeat of our youth and the catalyst for a brighter future.
Let this remain a vibrant and robust space for community engagement, a launchpad for talent, and a beacon of hope for the entire Vaal community. Together, let us keep the hashtag of #informingminds at the forefront and drive the change our nation deserves.
May your broadcast echo far and wide, carrying 'The Rhythm of the River' into every home, every heart, and every corner of our community.
Thank you, and congratulations to VUT FM.
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