Communication Minister Masiu says NBC is determined to improve radio coverage in Papua New Guinea
THE current management and the board of the national broadcaster – National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) of Papua New Guinea is focused on revitalizing the national radio.
A former broadcaster and board member of NBC and now Minister for Information & Communication and South Bougainville MP, Timothy Masiu made this undertaking in a recently commissioned 10 kilowatt Medium Wave NBC transmitter at Fimito outside of Goroka, Eastern Highlands province (EHP) for the highlands region.
“Presently, the current management and board of NBC are focused on revitalizing the national broadcaster and this is the way to go.
“We have radio stations in almost all the provinces in the country, we have to build two new radio stations in Hela and Jiwaka provinces so we can have radio stations broadcasting all over PNG,” Minister Masiu said with determination.
He said radio will continue to play a very important role in the development of the country.
“It is here to stay and we leaders are here to help make it to stay. And we are starting here in Fimito, Goroka, EHP.”
He thanked EHP Governor, Peter Numu and Goroka MP, Aye Tambua for availing their district and province as the starting point for NBC to make its presence felt.
“It is a real honour for me as the Minister for ICT. This commissioning of the new 10kw MW transmitter is a huge achievement for both the NBC and the national government under the leadership of Prime Minister James Marape.
“I can now say with confidence that the NBC is surely on the mend. I say this, because when I took over the ministry and on the occasion of swearing-in of the NBC Board Members I made a bold statement that NBC was on life support. NBC was in very critical situation and the organization was on a sick bed.
“What we all are witnessing here today shows us that we have turned the corner and the NBC is out of the ICU and on its way to full recovery,” Minister Masiu said.
He also made an undertaking to have three more 10kw MW transmitters’ through-out the country for the other three regions (Momase, New Guinea Islands, Southern).
“One will be installed in in Lae for the Momase region, one in Rabaul for the NGI region and the other in Port Moresby for the Southern region.”
Minister Masiu said this will see the whole country covered and no one should be complaining about not receiving NBC radio transmission from anywhere.
Masiu said he would like to see more partnership with leaders of various provinces and electorates to enhance NBC coverage where possible.
He also thanked the local landowners at Fimito for allowing such development to take place in the area.
Meanwhile, the NBC Board Chairman Pius Tikil said most Papua New Guineans grew up listening to radio as the only mode of communication and it is a vital tool for development given the rugged geographical terrains of the country and its remoteness.
“We came through radio, we grew up listening to radio and we want to get radio back to the rural masses for timely information dissemination. We have started the first step with the installation of the 10 kilowatt Medium Wave NBC transmitter for the highlands region.”
Goroka MP, Aiye Tambua whose electorate houses a lot of government institutions was present to witness the occasion and thanked the landowners for providing their land and recognizing the important work radio does for the people.
He presented K50,000 on behalf of his District Development Authority to Radio Eastern Highlands (Krai bilon Kumul) for station’s upkeep.
Eastern Highlands Governor Peter Numu echoed similar sentiments saying dissemination of key government information through radio is vital for growth and development.
“When right information is given, people are empowered to make right decisions not like what we see as the current trend of misinformation on social media especially Facebook. I request the minister to control Facebook because it is killing the country,” Governor Numu said.
He announced that the provincial government in its budget will be allocating K200,000 yearly for NBC Goroka.
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