Despite being one of the smallest countries in Africa in terms of size, Uganda has more than 244 radio stations making it the nation with one of the highest number of local radio stations in the continent.
The number of FM stations in Uganda has exploded since the government opened up radio to private investment about 20 years back. Global Press Institute on analysis claims the radio stations are the epicentre of socioeconomic progress.
The institute says, from economic growth to psychological healing, the nation continues to benefit from the radio stations’ focus on education and development.
A majority of listeners agree that a high percentage of radio stations in the country engage in community development programmes including community policing, sanitation and environmental conservation, poverty eradication strategies, farming, entrepreneurship talk shows, health and behaviour change related programmes and marriage and family counselling.
The stations host talk shows on law and order to reduce crime, hold forums for live political debates for political accountability, encourage community participation in development projects as well as coach listeners on rights and freedoms, noted Isaac Kalembe, media and public relations specialist at Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), the country’s communication regulator.
Voice of Kigezi FM manager Andrew Agaba said private FM radios have had a positive impact on the development of the society and helped to uplift people’s standards of living.
Previous reports had indicated 31 percent of the more than 38 million Ugandans lived below one US dollar a day in 1992, the UNDP which partners with local community iniatives and the media, has recently claimed to have halved the population living below the poverty line, from 56 percent — in 1992 — to 24 percent in 2010.
Agaba adds that 80 percent of the station’s programs are targeted at developing the masses directly or indirectly. He says that apart from music and advertising, Voice of Kigezi features educational programs ranging from health, employment, business mentorship to agriculture in order to raise awareness among youth.
Nicholas Aisu, head of department development studies and a lecturer at Kumi University in Uganda agrees to this. He says that after doing research on preffered community development practises, they use community radios nearby like Voice of Teso, Continental FM among others to empower more people in the Teso region bordering the northen Uganda known internationally for the invasion of Kony and his LRA rebels.
Aisu says,”we cannot open our doors to whole Teso region and teach them, most of the people here cannot even understand English but when we go out to one FM station and use the local language we reach more people.They call in or send us SMS texts on whatever topic we discuss and we give them feedback on air making others benefit too.”
Other radio stations including Radio Simba also do this to wage war on poverty.
According to the 2010 World Bank survey Uganda had a poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line at 241 percent but with a literacy rate of 85.5 percent, Agaba believes empowerment through community radios is beneficial.
Agaba says the reason the governement backed privatisation of FM stations even to be owned by communities was to address issues in ways and languages locals were familiar with. Agaba says the local radios have more impact as listeners easily identify the voice of their leaders and people they know than national radios based in the city.
In 1986, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni’s took over power and castigated for privatization of the Ugandan economy leading to private owned Television and radio airwaves in 1992 from state-control.
This broke the monopoly of the then government owned radio station, Radio Uganda, and heralded the reign of Sanyu FM.
Patrick Katto former Sanyu FM director said Uganda was by then emerging from a turbulent period of political and economic instability and violence, and people were thirsty for new ideas.
He added that the government endorsed the station giving it the freedom to cover a wide range of issues from religious to commercial, as well as those of national concern includinghealth and agriculture.
The police even used the station to sensitize the public about security matters and even to provide updates on traffic, which had previously not been available, he noted.
Radio Uganda although not wiped out, has opened several local radio substations in several areas and allocates slots for the more than 40 local languages in Uganda.
The stations, according to Global Press Institute survey, foster unity and peace in a once war torn country through the live forums that act as educative channels for both business, health, political and social enhancement.
According to the UNDP, Uganda is a predominantly agricultural eceonomy with over 70 percent of the working population employed in Agriculture and accounting for over 20 percent of the county’s GDP.
The country has an area of 236040 square kilometers (146675 square miles).
