First Mpumalanga TV station on the cards
The TV station will play a vital part in community story telling as people will be able to tell their own stories in their own language.
The establishment of the first community TV station in Mpumalanga is on the cards.
Measures to establish this station have been intensified.
Communication and media experts view these developments as a major step to expand communication platforms which will showcase the province in its entirety, using incredible stories and local languages.
On Thursday, a stakeholder engagement session facilitated by the Office of the Premier took place in Mbombela to mark the start of a community driven process for the station’s establishment. The audience included media practitioners, film producers, representatives of the business sector, actors, women and the the youth.
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Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane expressed the need to establish a community TV station during the 2022 State of the Province Address in February.
At the time she said, “Working with other stakeholders in the industry by providing opportunities to our youth in the film and television industry, we will be supporting initiatives to be granted a provincial licence for a TV station that will promote our rich heritage”.
According to the provincial government spokesperson at the Office of the Premier, George Mthethwa, the visits provided the committee with a framework to galvanise communities without violating the Independent Communications Authority South Africa (Icasa) licence regulations that forbids government interference in the licence application.
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The TV station’s establishment stimulated hope in various quarters of the province based on the vital role that it will play.
Mthethwa said the station will be crucial as an ideal platform for local communities to tell their own stories in their own languages. He says the premier is optimistic that the province’s communities, as represented by the interim committee, will not only ensure that the licence application is submitted on time, but that the station will go on air as soon as approval is granted.
