The Independent Broadcasting Authority has closed Kafue Community Radio Station for failure to comply with the IBA Act.
Kafue Community Radio Director Maximilan Makungo confirmed the development to the media but declined to give more details and referred further queries to Kafue Town Council which runs the radio station.
Efforts to get a comment from New Council Secretary Isaac Mwiche Mudala failed as he was reportedly not in office.
But some former K-FM Presenters disclosed that IBA closed the Community Radio Station because it has failed to comply with the IBA Act concerning remittance of annual subscriptions for over three years.
The sources said IBA was also concerned about the location of the radio station saying it was domiciled in a place which is not ideal for a business location.
“The problem at Kafue radio is that the station is run by people who literally have no knowledge of how the media operates. The biggest problem is that we had a management that didn’t know how to run a radio station. We need qualified media personnel to run it and also a proactive board not the current one.” The sources said
The sources further added that the radio station could not make any profit because it used to operate on a borrowed transmitter which was very costly.
Why would IBA have to determine the kind of premises a business operates from? Aren’t they supposed to be involved with only the content?
Naikosa bane.
What about failure to pay what’s due to GRZ?
Honestly speaking how can a town council run a radio station when by nature councils are failed institutions. If they fail to efficiently run their core businesses such as solid waste management, how can they be allowed to venture into extra undertakings outside their core mandate ?
Remember the Kafue residents protested the transfer of Mr Mudala’s predecessor and bloggers called them names. However Mwiche is a progressive young man.