Community radio station goes live
Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) promised to issue the station a frequency soon.
Umndeni Community Radio is coming to you live from Malvern.
Loosely translated to ‘Family Community Radio’, the station has been broadcasting pre-recordings, but from mid-January, the station went live.
This is part of the processes to obtain a broadcasting licence.
The director of the station, Ms Gugu Sibisi, said the process of getting the radio station on-air has been a long process.
“We had to consult with people in the industry, then we moved to pre-recordings and now we are finally broadcasting live. The breakfast show is done in the morning. My show, which is a traditional music show, airs on Saturday with our listeners sometimes coming to the studio to watch us doing it live,” said Miss Sibisi.
She said the station can also be listened to via streaming.
She added that the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) promised to issue the station a frequency soon.
“We were told that Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga do not have new frequencies to be issued, but due to the response the community gave us, they will be issuing us a licence. They saw there is a lot we can offer our community,” she said.
The station’s treasure, Mr Eric Soni, said the radio station is for everyone.
“We are a radio station for the whole family. We broadcast quality entertainment, news and community upliftment programmes. Although our main focus is the youth, we want to give our listeners information about things that can make their lives better. We want also to be where the news is happening in our community. We will soon have our line where we can be contacted on, and we also cover community news,” he said.
Miss Sibisi called on all broadcasting enthusiasts to come and join the Umndeni team.
“We want to promote our languages. Even those who come from other countries, who think the could host a show, should come on-board. We also need volunteers, especially for the evening shows. We would be happy if people who stayed in the area came to our studios in the evening. There is a lot we can do, so we need as many volunteers as possible,” she said.
The station is based at 223 Park Street, Malvern.
For more information about the station, visit the website umndeni.co.za or phone 011 614-0092 or 084 488 2122.
