Rural Debate as an avenue for deepening Democracy.

Rural Debate in the News

Driving Change through Rural Radio Debates-the Implementers’ perspective

By Lynn Najjemba -Project Officer

When the concept of ‘Taking Radio to the People’ in the form of community debates was first introduced in late 2009 little did Panos Eastern Africa and its Partners know that they were starting a process that would bring new life to radio programming and create an avenue for more audience participation and engagement .

Nicolas De Torrente Head of the Deepening Democracy Program in Uganda which supports the project explicitly says, ‘ when this started we were like, let’s see what happens, whether radio stations can actually generate good topics that captivates audiences and gets them more involved in discussing matters that greatly concern them’.

The Rural Radio Debate Project approach of using radio to promote citizens dialogue with power-holders or decision makers as a key and defining activity of a healthy and democratic society is beginning to bear fruit.

Indeed Debate is essential in encouraging meaningful participation of a citizenry in their political processes and in holding their leaders accountable, and also essential in driving change in the community.

The project has built our relationship and credibility in the communities, we directly identify with the local people so they feel this is a radio that cares for them’ Kyoga Veritas Radio.

Juma Seyyid the News Editor at Rock Mambo Radio in Tororo district says, ‘In the past people were kept in the dark, with no one to cry to or raise their issues, now they have a platform to talk, their voice is being amplified for leaders to act. When communities speak leaders are forced to act’.

 In some cases the debates have attracted immediate action from the powers that be; a case in point was a debate on the plight of Bishop Okille Primary School in Mukuju Sub-county in Tororo County. With a population of about 600 pupils, the school had only two teachers qualified to teach in the lower primary and who for several months had to crisscross the classrooms, trying to save the situation. 

Perhaps uncertain about whether they will live to see their dreams to become either Engineers, Doctors, or Politicians come true, the pupils are glued onto their little benches in anticipation that of at least a lesson before day break, but its Rock Mambo Radio team.

They are excited but unsure of who is addressing them let alone the purpose. Asked whether they’ve had a lesson since morning –they chorus, no sir. They certainly haven’t lost hope and continue to trek from their homes every morning and back in the evening even when they have not learnt a thing the whole day.

The voices of these young ambitious pupils and the cries of their extremely over whelmed two teachers captured in this debate are captivating and mind bogging. One wonders what it takes for a school management committee, a district education officers or a school inspector to find out the real situation at this school.

Indeed it took a debate for the people in-charge to realise that the school needs a head teacher and replacement of two staff- one who is away on maternity leave and the other who was transferred to another school.

Two days after the debate is aired with the chairman of the school management committee feigning ignorance about the whole disaster, two teachers are immediately posted at the school and in attempt to probably save face Tororo District Education calls into the Radio Station to inform them of the posting. He is even quick to show the posting letters as proof.

The debate at Bishop Okille Primary school and the manner in which it was addressed attests to the power of radio debates in driving change in communities and empowering communities to hold their leaders to account.

Juma Seyyid-News Editor at Rock Mambo Radio says, ‘the rural debate project has made us realise that ordinary people can make good news and cause change contrary to what we have been taught in journalism school, that prominent people and their actions is what makes news.’

The debates have not only facilitated dialogue on issues and key concerns of community members but they’ve kept leaders on their toes. ‘Initially our news editor and his team were the most hated journalists in Tororo – the leaders thought they are under digging their weaknesses and swaying their voters, but with the debates their perceptions have changed, Daniel Etyang acting manager of Rock Mambo Radio says.

The debates have slowly eased the process of getting political leaders and technocrats to participate in radio programs. ‘ In the past inviting these people on radio was proving difficult , there were a lot of bureaucracies involved, they would even claim they need to first seek permission from their superiors, but with the debates they know communities will raise issues about them, David Opio Acting station Manager of  Kyoga Veritas Radio in Soroti reminisces.

David Oketch Manager of Mighty Fire FM in Kitgum district says, ‘Panos has helped us reach people more as a radio, before we used to conduct vox pops but these were not very engaging and interactive like the radio debates have proven to be’.

The efforts by 20 community radio stations partnering with Panos on this project are steadily reaping benefits.  At the beginning we used to sit and ponder where to go for debate, but now there is overwhelming demand for the debates from the communities, sometimes we are spoilt for choice or unable to satisfy all demand due to logistical problems, Baraza Bonny a Producer at Rock Mambo Radio says.

The radio partners across the board say this has translated into growth in listenership and advertisement revenue because they’ve been able to win trust from the communities but this growth has come along with challenges. The radio managers are starting to realise that neutrality and objectivity in programming is important for growth of their businesses because the absence of this puts them on a collision course with state operatives.

Debate in Uganda: Tracing the Roots

Welcome to the Rural Radio Debate project Blog. To get started we trace the roots of debate in Uganda.

 Radio programming in Uganda has grown over the years from broadcasts about what the President and his cabinet have said, commissioned or where they have visited, new programs and policies brought by government to news and debate about real issues and problems affecting the ordinary citizen.

With Liberalisation of the airwaves in the early 90s a new era of radio broadcasting and programming was born in Uganda. The advent of FM stations brought innovations in radio programming although the initial content was mainly Music, jokes and news. As the years went by, competition grew among these FM stations and radio programmers had to become even more innovative to capture more audiences and retain them. This meant having audiences more involved in radio broadcasts and tailoring these broadcasts to suit their interests.

More FM stations adopted different formats but generally the concept  of  ‘more news, talk and discussion’ of the real concerns of the ordinary Ugandan came in and slowly radios were playing less of music and jokes and having real discussions  involving more audiences through phone-ins, letters, discussion programs and so on.

News Magazines bringing in more community voices such as New Hour – on Radio Uganda now UBC-Radio, ‘Agokumpi n’ewala’ literally translated as ‘News from here and beyond’ on CBS FM, ‘Ebirwa By’elabirwa’ or ‘What is delayed is forgotten’ on Radio Two or Akaboozi ku Bbiri, came in as a result of increased competition for the airwaves.

New Magazines coupled with Talk shows programs like ‘Capital Gang’ on Capital Radio(the second FM station to hit the airwaves), Spectrum on Radio One, Andrew Mwenda Live on Monitor FM which later became K FM, Olutindo on Radio Simba and many others, there was even more discussion of key policy and development issues affecting the ordinary Ugandan. With these came increased opportunities for audience participation in radio broadcasts and the radios encouraged their audiences to phone in or make sms contributions to debates and discussions  as well as  news.

One of the radio stations supported by the Rural Radio Debate project in Fort Portal, Uganda

Breakfast or evening drive programmes  even became more of ‘news and talk’ characterised by talk back sessions on current affairs, press reviews, hourly  news broadcasts and half hour updates with opportunities for audience participation through live phone ins and SMSs.

As more Radios opened up in the countryside so was the duplication but these duplicates were given a local touch to suite particular audiences and languages. The trend continued to near monotony with at least each radio having a talk show or Talk back sessions and news wraps on a daily or weekly basis. Another innovation in the form of Open air public discussion  forums which were later to be known widely as Ebimeeza translated as the ‘The Tables’ because of the style they took as round table discussions came in the early 2000s.

The open discussions, criticism and exposure of the weaknesses in government and among public officials was to cause discomfort in the initial years of broadcast leading to an attempt by government to have them banned  and the eventual ban in September 2009 after deadly riots in Kampala that also saw four FM Stations banned.

 The culture of talking, debating and exposing issues was however already born and getting to be firmly deep rooted in the Ugandan Society. However what was lacking was more involvement of grass root communities because many of these discussions were held in urban settings therefore giving more opportunity for people in such areas to talk or debate on issues and less to the rural populations.

Although the Rural Radio Debate Project capitalised on an already built culture of debating issues, it ushered in a new dimension in radio programming where rural radio listeners were given a platform to voice their concerns but also dictate on what forms debate and discussion on Radio by suggesting topics based on issues affecting them in their communities.

Community members gather under a tree to debate 'the state of healthcare in Asuret subcounty, Soroti district.

Rural Radio Debate is not only a platform for debate but also an avenue for radio audiences to provide feedback on the changes that have happened among them and in their communities as a result of these debates.

Keep checking the blog for more stories and pictures from the debates. For more information about the project see the ‘about’ section of this blog or www.panosea.org.