Radio Grahamstown has moved into the back of the Grocott’s Mail building, where the crew hopes to settle down permanently.
Radio Grahamstown has moved into the back of the Grocott’s Mail building, where the crew hopes to settle down permanently.
Riding the airwaves through the frequency of 102.1 MHz FM stereo, local news and entertainment has been gracing the ears of both the youth and adults since late 1995, not without major difficulties, however.
Beginning with a group of individuals who had a vision of a community radio which would bring people together, breaching the imbalances of the past, Grahamstown Community Radio was born in 1991.
Even though the idea and commitment was in place by the people, there were no funds to start a studio. In 1995, Radio Grahamstown applied for a license with the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), but having no studio, they were only able to secure a slot on Rhodes Music Radio (RMR) every Saturday between 7 and 10am.
Here, Radio Grahamstown was able to cover the main community issues as this was, and still is, the objective: to bring the community together.
In 1998, the Open Society Foundation was established to raise funds for a studio and installed equipment in 1999. This was a year of change for the station.
Having received a constitutional license from IBA, they were able to broadcast three shows a week. During 1991, they reported fully on SciFest, the national elections and the Standard Bank National Arts Festival.
After this they were granted a four year license by The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), the then newly formed regulator for the South African communications, broadcasting and postal services.
This gave Radio Grahamstown the opportunity to uplift their audience, not only by being able to be on air 24 hours a day, but also by involving the community and local artists by allowing them to perform and host shows according to their own agenda, uplifting potential local talent.
However, even though a license was secured, funds ran low due to mismanagement and squandering of funds. Radio Grahamstown closed and their license was lost.
In 2006 a task team was selected to overcome some of the challenges, including having an unstable board as well as the reasons for the closing in the first place.
The team worked very hard and fought for the license to be reinstated which they accomplished in 2008. Phumlani Wayi, current station manager, was appointed in July last year by the station’s board members to address these weaknesses and challenges.
Working closely with Prof Harry Dugmore and the Knight Foundation, the team was able to create a strong board, register as a company, meet the constitutional agreement required by ICASA and build up a studio, creating a professional platform on which to create the environment required to be recognised as a strong local radio station.
The premises in Froude Street which were provided by the municipality rent-free, but was an abandoned building, so the most immediate challenge was to move.
Not only was there no running water, but security was a big problem, especially for the evening DJs. Thus the move to the Grocott’s Mail building was undertaken and funding provided by the Knight Foundation assisted in the equipping of Radio G’s new home.
Even though Radio G has permission to broadcast 24 hours a day, it does not have the resources to do so, instead only being on air between 6am and 12pm.
Presenters and producers are just some of the requirements that Wayi seeks to fulfil the professionalism sought after.
He hopes that the move to the Grahamstown CBD will assist comfortably in this, involving the community as everything is based in town, especially businesses.
“It is also so great to be next to Grocott’s Mail,” says Wayi. “Media together can do more by exchanging ideas and having good relations we can work together and share skills, especially the news teams. Great things are coming for Radio G.”
