An Evaluation Mission to ECOWAS Radio in Liberia to Better Assess its Operation
14 Nov, 2024The mission, held from 4 to 8 November 2024, in Monrovia, Liberia, was made up of staff members from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
The purpose of the meeting was to get a first-hand look at several key aspects of ECOWAS Radio, including its staff, premises, technical equipment, the content of its programmes and the operational challenges hampering its smooth operation. The challenges include difficulties in maintaining technical equipment, the deterioration of the radio’s premises due to coastal erosion, limited staff, lack of financial resources and limited regional radio programmes.
To gain a better understanding of these various constraints, the mission held working sessions with members of staff, visited certain transmitter centres and technical broadcasting equipment, and inspected the regional radio premises. It also held meetings with the heads of public and private broadcasting stations, to gain a better understanding of how they operate.
The members of the mission also visited the new site that is to house both the regional radio station and the ECOWAS Commission’s Resident Representative in Liberia. They also met twice with the Resident Representative of the Commission, H.E. Mrs Joséphine Nkrumah. Discussions between the two parties focused on the strategies to be implemented to ensure that the regional radio station operates more effectively.
Designed as a tool to further ensure peace, security, stability and integration at regional level, the radio aims to broadcast relevant information to raise awareness among West African citizens on various issues and to promote the ideals of ECOWAS.
