Macra pledges to assist cyclone affected radio stations

Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) says it will soon implement numerous interventions to help radio stations that were affected by effects of Tropical Cyclone Freddy.

Macra director general Daud Suleman said this in an interview on Sunday on the sidelines of a Parliamentary Committee on Media, Information and Communications visit to Nyanthepa Community Radio Station in Nsanje District which was affected by the Cyclone Freddy-induced floods on March 15.

The legislators, who were accompanied by Macra officials, went to appreciate the extent of damage to the station as well as how it is operating at its new temporary premises with assistance from the district council.

Suleman said: “Immediately when Cyclone Freddy was declared a national emergency, the telecommunications sector engaged in what is called the national emergency telecoms plan. So, in it there are a number of issues we are dealing with.

“These include issues of recovery which has a budget so there is a process we are undertaking. So, radio stations such as Nyanthepa, at a certain point, we are going to come in to assist them.”

Parliamentary Committee on Media, Information and Communications chairperson Susan Dossi said they will take up the issue with the National Assembly to see how best community radio stations can be assisted, especially when they are in such a predicament.

She said: “As a committee we will take this matter to Parliament and see how best it can be handled because community radio stations play a critical role in information dissemination.”

Nyanthepa Community Radio Station board chairperson Wyson Dakamau said their preliminary assessment shows that they need K20.3 million to bounce back, including fixing of equipment. The community radio station went off air from March 15 to March 31 when floods triggered by the cyclone submerged the facility