By: Melvin Tejan Mansaray
According to Malcolm X, “The Media is the most powerful entity on
earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the
guilty innocent, and that is power. Because they control the minds of
the masses.” It is in light of the above-stated notion that the first-ever female
independent Member of Parliament representing constituency 001, Kissi
Tongi Chiefdom, Kailahun District, Honorable Emilia Lolloh Tongi has
Funded the construction and equipping of an edifice with a
state-of-the-art Radio Station and assembling of an uncompromising
editorial and management team with attractive salaries and conditions
of service to steer the affairs of the Voice of Kissi Tongi Radio
FM97.7 will be commissioned over the weekend in the Buedu, Kissi
Tongi Chiefdom, Kailahun District.
In an exclusive interview, Hon. Tongi said: “Communication is key for
everyone. To be very honest, if I am here today as an MP, the media
made it possible for me. Before springing to the limelight, I was an
unknown person but after granting two radio interviews, the whole
response and feedback changed the entire trajectory, people began
asking about who is Lolloh, so to me, the media brought me to stardom
status in the twinkle of an eye. The media can make and unmake people
and society. Journalists are like magicians, their standard of living
and work needs an improving – your salaries are unattractive.”
She urged regulators to ensure that the working conditions and living
standards of journalists are befitting of their status because of the
dangers, attraction, and interest in the job that they do. “I am commissioning the radio station because of what the media positively did to me as a way of paying back to them. My Radio Station is called Voice of Kissi Tongi. Its frequency modulation is 97.7 and its bandwidth spans from Buedu, Segbwema, Kono, Kissidu, Foya, and beyond. It is a modern and digital radio station. The building is
spacious with a reception, air-conditioned offices, and a studio. It is in honor of the role and contribution the media played in my political elevation,” Hon. Tongi said.
She was explaining the cost of establishing the Radio station and equipping it with ultramodern gadgets for its operationalization, Hon. Tongi said, “well, just to procure the equipment alone cost me around Twelve Thousand United States Dollars. It is a modern radio station with two antennas with an incredibly excellent reception and signal strength with noise filtering technology among other software
applications and hardware. “
The MP also disclosed that the editorial focus of the radio will be encompassing, featuring programs on women, politics, education, news, road, weather focus, and religion, and also will be providing relay services for the BBC, VOA, and SLBC. The Station has got five staff and a Manager in the Management and Editorial team with offices for reporters and administrators.
Hon. Tongi noted, “We have acquired and attained all what the IMC and
NATCOM required of us. We hope to generate revenue in the mid to long
term since the advertising market is not as buoyant as one may think.
In the short term, I have involved my brother who is in the United
States and will be taking care of the salaries for now until the radio
starts generating its own income to manage its expenditure and other
operational costs. The least salary that we are paying for now is one
million Leones and others are getting more than that depending on
their roles and skills. We also have a means of transportation for
our workers with two commercial motorbikes for information gathering.”
Hon. Tongi said the Radio will be up and running before, during, and
after the June 24the general elections because according to her, “it
is another means to provide employment for people so, definitely it is
going to be there not just for elections but also after. It is
expected that the Radio is going to be a legacy project for those
people who stood by me during trying times but it is going to be their
own efforts that will be sustaining for the next decades. We already
have a Board of thirteen members’ including Paramount Chiefs,
Clergies, and stakeholders within the three chiefdoms of Kissi Teng,
Kissi Tongi, and Kissi Kama. We have a Technical expert in the person
of Mr. Andrew Kromah who will be training my team along with the
policies which will guide the Radio’s operation for sustainability.”
On Saturday 18th February 2023, an elegant launching ceremony is
expected to be staged for the great commissioning of the operations of
the Radio, an auspicious event for which the Minister of Information
and Communication, Mohamed Rahman Swaray is expected to be the
distinguished grand chief patron and chief launcher along with an expected firebrand media coverage from existing media outlets.
The event was graced by politicians from across the APC and SLPP and other indigenes are also expected to be in attendance at the landmark event.