Share

Radio still on right track

RADIO STILL ON RIGHT TRACK

Our youth seem to believe that radio broadcasting is something of the past, out-fashioned and maybe needs to close down its business doors. There is hardly a moment where they listen to it. A music system to them mean high volume hip-hop, kwaito, etc. and news, never. The only broadcasting for them is the TV, especially the soapies but there is still a little percentage of them who listen to Radio in the likes of YFM, Metro etc. because they play music of their generation. Their feeling is that traditional radio stations like Kwekwezi, Thobela, Kwalakwala, Khosi etc. belong to the oldies and being young and listening to traditional music, Mbaqanga, Maskandi etc. is misconstrued as being uncivilised.

 We must not look down at Radio as it can be informative in many ways; last year my neighbour’s son was travelling to Polokwane and his father and me were sitting in their house veranda listening to Kwekwezi FM and suddenly an important announcement was made of a huge rock that fell off the hill and rolled onto the road through Loskop Dam area. The Radio was asking road users to use alternative routes like Stofberg as the workers were still battling to remove it. We tried in vain to get my neighbour’s son on his cellphone and we knew that he was forever playing his Hip-Hop. After a long period he called his dad and told him that he’s got a number of missed calls. He indicated that he was at that moment at Loskop Dam and there was a traffic jam and he did not know what was wrong and maybe there might be a horrible accident. It was then that he understood why all the cars in front of him were at a standstill. Since he was in a hurry not to miss the wedding ceremony he decided to turn back to Middleburg and take Stofberg route. Credit must be given to our Radio Stations, am I right?

Every morning, I wake up and turn my old one band transistor radio on to listen to morning news and weather report which I find it very useful. Look, I’m a pensioner and stay at home the whole day but I still listen to traffic news of which the only source for me is radio.

Last month there was a very important talk on Kwekwezi FM, about how to make RAF claim. The most important section was the phone-in two-way talk where a RAF employees and specialist were invited into the radio studio to talk directly to people and answer questions from the affected people. Here we must remember that earlier on, RAF claim could only be made through the help of a lawyer, not direct from RAF by the applicant. This is a huge step and relief when you take into consideration how many people were swindled out by these lawyers. Credit must also go to RAF for opening offices throughout the country and make it easy for victims of road accidents to access these offices. We really appreciate your work and endeavour to enlighten our people who so often find themselves at dire straits when it comes to obtaining services. This is not the only one; there are still many ways in which the communities benefit from radio. Well done. Very soon we’ll include in all our community papers, a directory of important or key points information (location & contact numbers) including RAF service points in each and every town.

Ref: My relative was involved in an accident in 1999 but survived uninjured but lost his wife and her friend. That was reported and a claim was made to RAF through the lawyer. Every three months he would visit his lawyer who in turn promised him everything was going well till the last month of a three year period when the lawyer changed his colours, applied his chicanery tricks. The lawyer started accusing him of reckless driving and also told him that he (lawyer) was struggling to obtain medical records from the hospital that treated the deceased. I accompanied my relative to the hospital whose employees searched everywhere but could not get the medical file. That was a big surprise to the hospital staff as they were sure that even the 1960’s records were still available. One of them even suggested an investigation by the then Scorpions. Then RAF claim window of three years closed down. A week later I accompanied my relative to the lawyer’s office and we were advised that he had since passed on. Taking the corrupted lawyers out of the RAF equation is a boon to accident victims and the implementer deserves a pat on his/ her shoulder, because they have so long used poor people as dromedaries on their journey to obtain wealth and they were a bulwark preventing victims to receive their consolation funds, amongst them, there are those who’ll never be able to fend for themselves again.

By: Modiba Kadi

Communications Minister Faith Muthambi: The SABC broadcasts a variety of news that helps deepen democracy, Communications Minister Faith Muthambi has said.SABC empowers citizens with a variety of news – Faith Muthambi

6 August 2014 10:59

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
42% - 397 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
58% - 558 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.2%
Platinum
910.50
+1.5%
Palladium
1,011.50
+1.0%
Gold
2,221.35
+1.2%
Silver
24.87
+0.9%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE