PRETORIA– The South African telecommunications services company, Sentech, has lifted its suspension of 15 community radio stations with outstanding signal distribution fees following a meeting with Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane and industry stakeholders.<\/P>
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The meeting, which took place last Friday, saw the Minister meet with Sentech and the National Community Radio Forum (NCRF), the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to resolve the impasse.<\/P>
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“We have managed to broker an agreement between the parties that will be aided by our support to the community radio stations through the MDDA. Sentech has agreed to reconnect all suspended stations and will not effect any further suspensions in the short-term whilst we seek to find sustainable solutions to the financial viability of the community media sector,” said Mokonyane over the weekend.<\/P>
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The 15 community radio stations were last week suspended from broadcasting and a further 17 would have been affected in an attempt by Sentech to recover 33 million Rand (about 2.73 million US dollars) which are owed to it by the by the delinquent community radio stations.<\/P>
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We have also committed to further engage the community radio sector through a process aimed at strengthening governance, financial management, revenue generation and skills development within the sector. The above will create an environment wherein community radio stations are geared to attract investment and advertising expenditure from both the public and private sectors,” said Mokonyane.<\/P>
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The Minister has also committed to hosting a Community Radio Sector Summit to be held in May 2018, which will provide a platform to further explore the variety of challenges and opportunities that exist within the sector.<\/P>
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“The community radio sector is a critical communication platform to ensure we provide our people with access to information in their communities as a means towards the creation of an informed citizenry. It is for this reason that we cannot allow the sector to collapse,” she said.<\/P>
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Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK<\/P>
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