Program Director
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communication, Cde Eric Kholoane,
Sekhukhune District Mayor, Cde Mogobo Magabe
Board Chairperson of Sekhu FM, Cde Dikgabane Rampedi
Station Manager ,Mpho Mpogeng
Honourable guests, Ladies and gentlemen
The birth of every child is a welcome event on earth, and within our society as Africans, there are specific rituals and music that goes with the event. The same goes with this birthday even of a baby that has just turned four years of age.
Accordingly, this baby has started walking, and now can utter a few words and can now recognise a few people, especially its mother, father and siblings.
Program Director, the advent of our democracy in 1994 ushered in many changes and privileges that we as African people could not enjoy in the apartheid era. A few of them was that a black person in South Africa was not allowed to speak on radio without the supervision of a white person. You were also not allowed to be seen on television when television was introduced in 1976 in this country. A few of those who worked on then Radio Bantu would even have their news bulletin pre-recorded for later broadcast in case they contain some terrorist or socialist messages.
After 1994, our African National Congress government introduced many changes that would ensure our people are heard far and near. Firstly they repealed all apartheid laws. We started enjoying our own home brewed music, and presenters on both Radio and television. Institutions like the Government Communication and Information Systems (GCIS), SENTECH, MDDA, NCRF were introduced. These institutions also assisted in the training of the many talented broadcasters and actors we have in our country today.
Program Director, as we celebrate the birth of Sekhukhune FM, we are proud today in Limpopo because through the various institutions and the efforts of our parliament, we now have more than 18 community radio stations in Limpopo, and one of them is Sekhukhune FM. The good thing about these stations is that they are community based, and therefore speak and understand the plight of the local community.
The number 18, might sound like a lot, we still need more community radio stations. We still owe the people of Limpopo a Community Television Station and it is time those investors and those with talent come out and make it happen. There are communities who still do not have radio stations. In Western and European countries, one small city the size of Polokwane would have more than 20 community radio stations and probably five or more television networks. This in itself shows that we still have a long way to go in the information highway.
Program Director, Sekhu FM, as they like to call themselves has a duty to fulfil in the community. Radio’s duty is to edutain, (educate, inform and entertain), once you depart from that route, you are lost. Radio can built or destroy a nation. Radio can start wars, and spark tribalism and ethnics. In 1994 in Rwanda, a Radio station called RTM started spreading hate amongst the Hutu and the Tutsi people through its broadcasts. They started way back in 1993 by calling for the Hutus to ‘cut down the tall trees”, a code phrase which meant for the Hutus to start killing the Tutsi. They also used the term inyezi (cockroach), when referring to Tutsis and told Hutus to “ crush the cockroaches”. The results of these hate broadcasts is that more than a million people were massacred in Rwanda between 1994 and 1995 over a period of only 100 days. Just because people believed what a radio station said. So, you carry both an important and lethal message. Use it with care.
With the above examples, it means radio then plays a powerful role in shaping our society. Just as much as it was used in the apartheid era to spread hate amongst Bapedi, BaVenda, BAtsonga and Ndebele speaking people of then Transvaal and now Limpopo, it can still happen if we are not careful. What makes us happy, is that our Constitution and the founding principles on which it is based are enshrined within us and our children should be able to defend those with their lives.
Program Director, In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that the Limpopo government will do all in its powers to support Community radio and community newspapers. Very soon I shall be meeting with Government Communicators so that we could talk about how we would want to support and work closely with Community Media, because I think we haven’t done as much as we would want to.
As radio, one important message you can spread between today and tomorrow is that South African and Limpopo people must go and register to vote in the next year’s National elections. That message, undiluted, is very important and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Part of our liberation is built from foundations of these elections that are done every five years. Without them, we are doomed.
SekhuFM Happy birth day!
