Johannesburg – Upington-based community radio station, Radio Riverside, which is situated in the Northern Cape, serves the community with diligence and courage.
The radio station covers an audience of 73 000 listeners and is considered a model in governance and management by the Commonwealth of Learning.
The station benefitted through the open call for funding of the NLC under the sector of Arts, Culture and National Heritage, including Environment in August 2019, where Radio Riverside was granted funds as a non-government organisation (NGO) that sought to serve as a link between government and the community.
The funding is aimed at empowering the station towards helping it to promote communication and to give the youth an opportunity to get actively involved.
After the funds were allocated, the NLC’s monitoring and evaluation process kicked in to assess implementation and the extent to which the grant actually empowers the community and the station’s volunteers.
“The purpose of the site visit is to introduce an outcome-based reporting tool to NLDTF [National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund] beneficiaries that will enable them to submit reports on quarterly basis to the monitoring and evaluation unit, while meaningfully interacting with grantees in a safe environment over a selected and/or preferred platform such as telephonically, messaging apps, Zoom Meetings or MS-Teams.
“The ultimate aim is to assist with the implementation of their projects in line with the objectives of the National Lotteries Commission,” says Clive Moses, the NLC Project Manager in the Northern Cape.
Moses adds that the main activities of Radio Riverside are to encourage interest from the community in support and participation of indigenous and contemporary content through community radio broadcast, as well as live streaming of broadcasts via the internet.
Radio Riverside board chairperson Vernon Mfusi says: “The community radio station has a direct beneficiary count of close to 1 500 participants of all ages from previously disadvantaged communities in a 80km broadcasting radius from Upington. “It currently employs 15 full-time women and seven full-time males alongside four youngsters, both female and male from previously disadvantaged communities. All staff members are paid from NLDTF funding for salaries/stipends and radio drama production fees.”
Mfusi has thanked the NLC for approving the radio station’s application.
Moses states that the NLC was pleased by the high standard employed by the station in the execution of its duties, adding that the station has displayed superb corporate governance and management of its NLC-funded projects. Moses says: “Radio Riverside remains above board in relation to the signed grant agreement, as well as the approved budget line items.
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