Part 1 in a Series: Radio and Development
KAMPALA, UGANDA – Voice of Kigezi FM is a private radio station located in Kabale, a town in southwestern Uganda. Broadcasting in the local Rukiga dialect, it features community-specific programs targeted at youth ages 16 to 35, says Andrew Agaba, the station manager.
Beyond the expected menu of music and advertising, Voice of Kigezi features educational programs ranging from health to agriculture in order to raise awareness among youth. For example, one program called Straight Talk addresses adolescent issues such as reproductive health. Other programs promote opportunities for employment and business mentorship.
Because the community that the station serves is mainly engaged in farming, tips and discussions on the best farming practices are especially useful for listeners. Programs also advise farmers about marketing and inform them of the most profitable crops depending on the season.
Agaba says that poverty is one of the major problems in the community, so Voice of Kigezi also devotes time to sensitizing listeners to poverty-eradication strategies. The station partners with successful businesspeople who host frequent talk shows about cultivating a business mind and good management practices.
The radio station also partners with environmental protection organizations, such as Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Trust. Other partners of the radio station focus on development, such as Excel Hort Consult Ltd., which is working with 90 families on saving energy, raising pigs and planting trees. The station publicizes the project and airs recordings of the beneficiaries explaining the changes taking place in their community.
Voice of Kigezi also hosts police officers, who use the airwaves to inform people about law and order. Agaba say that were was a time when crime was high in Kabale town, but a weekly talk show hosted by the police and judiciary on the radio station has aided in reducing crime rates.
Agaba says that 80 percent of the station’s programs are targeted at developing the masses directly or indirectly. Sometimes it’s as simple as announcers giving tips in between the music sessions, such as advising young husbands to escort their pregnant wives to clinics for prenatal care.
“Another achievement of FM radio is that leaders are now held accountable, and there is better service delivery,” Agaba says.
The communities receive information on their rights via the radio. In turn, political leaders receive citizen feedback through the call-in programs.
Covering a radius of approximately 200 miles, the radio station also reaches neighboring Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo, Agaba says.
While the state-controlled radio used to dominate the airwaves, now hundreds of privately owned FM stations have diversified and developed radio in Uganda. In turn, the stations are promoting socio-economic development in the nation. Listeners say they rely on the radio not only for entertainment, but also for knowledge ranging from economics to politics. Still, there is room for the industry to improve in order to maximize the voices and information included.
There are 268 FM radio stations in Uganda, 80 of which are in Kampala, the capital, says Isaac Kalembe, media and public relations specialist at Uganda Communications Commission, which regulates the nation’s communications industry.
But it wasn’t always this way.
Sanyu FM was the pioneer private FM station in Uganda in 1993. Before that, there was only one, government-owned radio called Radio Uganda. It was transmitted on short wave and medium wave.
More than 50 languages are spoken throughout Uganda so it was not possible to cater to all the communities in their own languages on one radio station. So Radio Uganda alotted short segments to each of the various communities, says Patrick Katto, one of the first directors of Sanyu FM.
The most popular program on Radio Uganda seemed to be the death announcements, which went on for hours, Katto says. The readers of these notices were the popular announcers of that day.
In 1986, current President Yoweri Museveni came to power after years of military dictatorship and widespread allegations of human rights violations by other ruling parties. The government instituted new policies that included the privatization of the Ugandan economy. Television and radio airwaves, once state-controlled, were opened up to private investment in 1992.
Katto’s family then started Sanyu FM, which means “joy” in Luganda, the language spoken by the majority here. His family has since sold its broadcasting business, and the station is now known as Sanyu 2000 FM.
As the trendsetter in private broadcasting, Sanyu FM had to tailor the programs to the needs of the society, Katto says. Uganda was emerging from a turbulent period of political and economic instability and violence, and the people were thirsty for new ideas.
“Its arrival was quickly embraced by the private sector, as well as government,” Katto says of Sanyu FM. “Big corporations were at our door with advertising requests.”
Programs covered most of the sectors of the community, ranging from religious to commercial, as well as others of national concern, such as health and agriculture. Even the police noted the new trend of FM stations, using Sanyu FM to sensitize the public about security matters and even to provide updates on traffic, which had previously not been available.
Noticing the impact that FM broadcasting was quickly making, other private investors followed. In 1994, Capital FM hit the airwaves, starting a race to open new radio stations that is still hot today.
Kalembe says that investors are now discouraged from opening new FM stations in the city because there are so many. But there is still room for more stations in rural areas.
Radio Uganda is still on the air today and carries an advantage over other radio stations because it reaches the whole country. It has also opened various FM stations, adding to its competitive edge. Apart from these, the rest of the FM stations are private.
Kalembe says that FM radio stations are expected to fulfill the three major functions of media: information, education and entertainment.
“FM radios bring news and information closer to the people, and that is good,” Kalembe says.
Although it is not a law, FM radios should include programs aimed at raising the standards of living of the communities they serve as part of their corporate social responsibility, he says.
“On the whole, private FM radios have had a positive impact on the development of the society and helped to uplift people’s standards of living,” Kalembe says.
Liberalizing the airwaves was a wise move by the government, Katto agrees. During the period when there was only Radio Uganda, whenever there was a coup, the radio was always the next thing to be seized in order to make an announcement.
“The battles for control of government were always fought around Radio Uganda,” he says, “not Parliament or State House, but the power seemed to lie in this single communication outlet. This is not possible anymore.”
In addition to stabilizing politics, this also has contributed to the economy, he says.
“To some extent, this has contributed to the difficulty of staging coups, which is good for economic development of the country,” he says.
Private investment in FM radio brings good income to the proprietors, and it also provides employment for many people, Katto says.
“A good example is the local music industry, which has grown tremendously because of FM radios stations,” he says. “Local music has found a friendly and conducive outlet.”
After years of the people living in fear during military dictatorships and guerilla warfare in which hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives, radio has also played a role in the country’s healing process, he says.
“The opening of Sanyu FM and the others that subsequently followed played a significant role in the psychological recovery of the people,” Katto says. “After more than 20 years of being muzzled and killed by the various regimes, now Ugandans could call in and air their views and be heard by millions of others. In that way, FM radios have played a motivational role, and it is still true today.”
Listeners affirm the benefit of the now hundreds of privately owned FM radio stations across Uganda.
Sam Muganga runs a secretarial and photocopying business in Bukoto, a suburb of Kampala. He says he makes sure to listen to the talk shows on FM radios because they are educational. He also enjoys the music.
“The music is very entertaining and provides good leisure after a hard day’s work,” he says. “Some of the local music carries good messages, such as gospel and counseling.”
Abdul Kizito, manager of a boutique on William Street in Kampala’s business district, says that some FM radio stations broadcast programs that teach listeners skills. He has heard programs on how to make candles, how to start a small business without much capital and how to market one’s own products in order to avoid middlemen.
Esther Sempala operates a small business selling fresh food and fruits in a Kampala suburb. She listens to FM radio throughout the day at her stall.
She says the radio helps her to do well in her business because the stations broadcast the commodity prices. With this knowledge, she can avoid being cheated by wholesalers.
She says that she also likes the political programs on the radio because they help her to understand what each political party stands for. Through the radio debates, the achievements and weakness of various political leaders are exposed, which sensitizes people so that they are not easily deceived.
“The debates on the talk shows, especially those that host leaders from all political parties help people to know the difficult period the country went through and to appreciate the development that has taken place,” she says.
She also likes the music that the stations play and especially the songs that carry messages about, for example, good marriages. She listens to football commentaries as well, particularly on her favorite teams: Manchester United and, locally, the Uganda Cranes.
Listeners can also participate in radio. For example, some stations set time aside for talking about moral issues, and listeners can call in to comment or to ask questions.
FM stations also create a platform for listeners to unify. Radio fan clubs directly promote developmental projects, such as pooling money together for investment.
Still, there are several areas to improve.
Kitzio say that he wishes it were more affordable to advertise on the radio so local business owners like him could advertise their businesses.
At the same time, Kalembe says that the explosion of FM stations means that they are competing for the same listeners and advertisers, which may force some to close.
Kalembe says that some FM stations must improve their programming, like ones that only play music and crack jokes. Although these do have their niche, he says that in a country that is still counted among the poorest in the world, the stations should use the airwaves better, with development at the forefront.
There is also the danger of people using the airwaves to incite violence, as was done in Rwanda during the genocide, Kalembe says. But the government has laws against this, making it illegal to propagate violence or broadcast anything that is meant to create unfair bias against the government.
