Liberian President George Weah has expressed delight over the transfer of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) Radio to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The handover was part of programmes for the winding up of UNMIL in the West African country. All mandates were completed on March 30, 2018.
At the ceremony on March 23 Weah said “As the United Nations withdraws from Liberia, its radio is transferred to ECOWAS. I am convinced that this powerful medium of communication will enable the regional organisation have greater impact on its citizens, particularly at the grassroots.”
According to ECOWAS Commission web site, the Liberian President expressed gratitude to the United Nations Mission for its critical role in the consolidation of democracy, economic development, peace and security in Liberia, through this radio.
He urged ECOWAS to build on these achievements, and to make the radio a viable instrument to effectively promote peace, security, and integration in the region.
According to the ECOWAS Commission President, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, represented by the Commissioner for Education, Science and Culture, Leopoldo Amado, the new regional radio would serve as a platform to promote integration as enshrined in the ECOWAS Treaty and its related texts and protocols.
“The radio station will promote regional integration; contribute to the education of the West African people; create awareness of ECOWAS programmes and its Vision 2020; help to strengthen economic integration, peace, security, and democracy in West Africa; and promote development programmes of the United Nations and international partners across the sub-region,” Amado stated.
He called for greater support from the international community to sustain the radio, noting that the pomp and pageantry of the handing over ceremony should not detract from the major challenges to be addressed through the collective effort of all stakeholders.
“There is the need for huge technical investment, first to enable the radio remain on air, then to extend its broadcast to the other Member States in the three official languages of ECOWAS, and finally to incorporate national languages that will foster the socio-cultural integration of our Community,” Leopoldo Amado concluded.
Earlier, the Resident Representative of the ECOWAS Commission President in Liberia, Ambassador Tunde Ajisomo, thanked UNMIL staff, the United Nations’ Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, former Liberian President, Mrs Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and former ECOWAS Commission President, Marcel de Souza, and all who contributed to the successful transfer of the UN Radio to the regional organisation.
“This transfer encapsulates the desire of ECOWAS founding fathers to strengthen the bond of unity and promote peaceful co-existence among Member States of the Community,” stated Mr Ajisomo.
The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Mrs Amina Mohammed, the United Nations Under-Secretary General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Coordinator for UN Operations in Liberia, Farid Zari, as well as the Liberian Minister for Information, Eugene Lenn Nagbe, all expressed satisfaction with the transfer of the UNMIL Radio to ECOWAS.
According to the UN web site, the radio was considered the flagship of UNMIL public information products and the most trusted news source of any media outlet in Liberia. It offered nationwide coverage reaching approximately 75 per cent of Liberian territories and 80 per cent of the population of nearly 4.5 million people.
Established at the inception of the Mission, it first hit the airwaves on October 1, 2003 from a make-shift studio – an OB van stationed in Spriggs Payne, Monrovia. Progressively, the station moved to the Mission’s Logistic Base (Star Base), before relocating to the present site adjacent Pan African Plaza, Headquarters of the UN Mission in Liberia.
The radio was on-air 24/7, broadcasting over 60 programmes weekly in various formats and languages. Topics covered the work of the Mission and of the UN family at large, the Liberian Peace Process, national reconciliation, humanitarian interventions, current affairs, human rights, Rule of Law, security, gender, civic education and human interest stories amongst others.
The station broadcasts in English and Special Liberian English, as well as three local languages of Lorma, Bassa and Kpelleh. It also partners with some Community Radio stations that relay a selection of its programmes, including major news bulletins.
Since its inception, the station has created more than a thousand jingles, public service announcements and drama addressing issues such as mob justice, peace and reconciliation, child rights, human rights, education, corruption, sexual and gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, along with civic and voter education during elections.
The station also worked in close collaboration with the various sections of the Mission, the UN Country Team, Liberian government agencies, NGOs and civil society organisations.
Transmitter sites are located in Monrovia, Gbarnga, Voinjama, Zwedru, Harper, Tubmanburg and Buchanan. Transmission will soon be restored in Greenville and Saniquellie. Audio is delivered to these field transmitters through the Mission’s satellite network and microwave links, as well as a contracted commercial data network.
Premium programmes of the station included prime time news cast at 1 pm, the morning interview hub Coffee Break, the news and current affairs magazine Dateline Liberia, and a newsreel that rounds up key developments of the week.
Besides, the station focused on delivering topical issues beneficial to the public service of Liberians of all ages, music, community engagement programming and selective human interest stories. It regularly reviews content and programming, with the aim of adapting these to evolving trends and ensuring a fresh and energetic approach.
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in a statement by his Deputy Spokesman, Farhan Haq, in the organisation’s website, appreciated the essential contributions of all partners in the Liberian peace process over the years, particularly the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), whose green helmets laid the foundation for United Nations peacekeepers in Liberia.
