Kenyan government minister shocked at state of transmitting station

A Sh900 million (US$12.3 million) government radio transmission station based in Malindi, Kenya, cannot be used because its equipment is outdated, Information Assistant Minister Koigi wa Wamwere said, following a visit to the Marekebuni radio transmission station, adding that it needed an overhaul.

The minister was shocked by the pathetic state of the transmission station and asked if it was worth Sh900 million. Technicians at the station said it was among nine others countrywide built in 1992 with Japanese government assistance.

Salt from the Indian Ocean has led to corrosion of the equipment at the station. Out of six transmitters, only one is operational and only one out of three generators works. Transmitters which served Kilifi, Tana River, Malindi and Lamu districts as well as parts of Eastern and North Eastern provinces, are out of order. “Our radio broadcasts could be heard as far as Mogadishu in Somalia and Tanzania when it was set up here 14 years ago,” said a technician. But he said the other nine stations were still in working condition.

As a result, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation English transmission collapsed five years ago while the Kiswahili service is off-air most of the day. Technicians said in case of a power blackout, the station cannot transmit as its requires 750 KVA while only a small generator of 50 KVA was working. The generator is only used for lighting. The roof is leaking and the floor has corroded as a result of salt from the ocean. Even blowers to remove dust do not work. The problem has been aggravated by six major salt companies at the Gongoni ocean front where millions of tonnes of salt are processed annually.

Mr Wamwere said the national broadcaster must embrace new technology to keep pace with the times. “KBC must embrace modern digital technology as the analogue technology is obsolete. The world has gone digital,” he said.

The assistant minister said the station should be revived since the Government transmitted its policies to the public through it. “People are criticising the Government because they don’t know what it is doing. It is through the radio and such media that they can learn about government policies,” he said.

Source: Media Network, The Nation

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