by Bayano Valy – SANF 04 no 90
African public broadcasters have vowed to reinvigorate the Union of National Radio and Television Organizations of Africa (URTNA), despite recent setbacks.
Created in September 1962, a year before the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), URTNA gave voice to liberation movements that were fighting against colonialism. Over the years, the union has gradually lost its initial clout and visibility owing to a number of problems including members defaulting on subscriptions and dwindling membership.
“Problems are part of the road,” said Mozambican Foreign Affairs Minister Leonardo Simão, at the opening of the 42nd General Assembly of URTNA in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, in early October.
He said it is true that most African democracies face serious economic, financial and structural difficulties, making it difficult for governments, but there has to prevail a spirit of solidarity and cooperation among governments and media professionals.
Simão encouraged URTNA members to look to the African Union (AU) and its New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) for lessons on how to transform the union into a powerful media organisation that stands for the continent’s interests.
“We’ve the sentiment that the African reality is not well projected at the international level by the international media,” said the Mozambican minister, adding that there is a need to counter this perception.
But central to this is the acquisition of a satellite that can beam information across the continent and the world in real time, he said.
URTNA has for the past two years been doing some groundwork towards the envisaged restructuring. Arlindo Lopes, the outgoing president of URTNA and chairperson of Television Mozambique (TVM), said that during his tenure, the union had redeemed a sense of respect and seriousness.
“What I can say is that I feel I’ve done my part, I accomplished my duty,” said Lopes, describing the poor state of affairs the organisation was in when he took over.
He explained that an ad hoc commission had been established and “we worked hard so that we could reach this stage with serious and well-structured recommendations, as well as creating conditions for us to comply with our obligations to our members, namely creating conditions for them to feel the need and essence of this organisation.”
The ad hoc commission brought back credibility of the union. Member broadcasters who had quit have come back. It outlined proposals and a draft plan of action for the future of the union.
The returning members were Angola, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Swaziland. “I’m certain that as they [returning members] hear and see fruits and results of this meeting, they’ll approach us and together we’ll seek solutions. People have more trust in us.”
Lopes said URTNA needs to move away from handouts and over-reliance on state funding and instead move towards financial sustainability through activities such as selling services as well as a complete change of mentality.
“Nobody ever lives on handouts,” said Lopes, who favours an organisation made up of regional blocs, modelled on the AU and NEPAD.
“Looking at the AU or NEPAD model, there’s an emphasis on regional organisations,” he said, adding that “we don’t need to have a big organisation that has the pretension of being in charge of everything. But we want to promote the creation of regional organisations.”
Southern African broadcasters have already followed this example through the Southern African Broadcasting Association (SABA). Lopes hoped that the experience could be replicated throughout all regional blocs in Africa.
Fundamental to URTNA’s success is the establishment of an African channel, a project that requires a satellite. “It’s not enough to have a channel without a satellite,” said Lopes.
The project for the acquisition of a satellite has already been submitted to the NEPAD secretariat for fund-raising.
The incoming chairperson, Eddie Iroh, chief executive of Radio Nigeria, agreed that the organisation needed a complete overhaul to start doing things differently.
“We’ve not maximised our opportunities and that’s what we’ll seek to do in the next two years,” said the Nigerian broadcaster.
He said he is going to utilise the Nigerian presidency of the AU. “At least I can walk over to our president [Olusegun Obasanjo] and make an appointment and say, listen, this is URTNA, this is our programme, this is our objective, … this is our vision. How can we be on the agenda of the AU?”
Iroh warned that there is no development without information, since “development is not development unless the people know how it can touch their lives. You mobilise their enthusiasm, you can only do that through the media, through public information.” (SARDC)
