Radio station proprietor bemoans high cost of importing broadcast equipment

A Mansa based private radio station proprietor has bemoaned the high cost of importing radio equipment into Zambia.

Paul Kafwanka, the proprietor of KFM in Mansa, has since called on government to consider removing tax on all broadcasting equipment coming into the country as a way of encouraging more local investors to invest in the media industry.

Mr. Kafwanka said government should in the next national budget consider removing taxes on all broadcast equipment so that many local people can afford to establish radio and television stations.

He said this when Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Mwansa Kapeya toured his radio station yesterday.

Mr. Kafwanka pointed out that radio stations play a critical role in the community because they inform people on the current affairs of the entire country.

He said his newly established radio station has been airing community programmes without a charge as way of paying back to the community except for commercial programmes which were paid for to keep the station running.

Mr. Kafwanka praised the Patriotic Front government for improving the media industry in the country and for approving the establishment of many community radio stations.

And Mr. Kapeya has said government’s intention was to make the media operate professionally while respecting the rights of all political players and the public.

He said government would want many people to establish radio stations so that information dissemination was enhanced in the country.

He noted that the media was an important player in the growth of the country’s economy hence the need for his government to work in partnership with all media organizations.

Mr. Kapeya however warned against turning community radio stations into political party tools where the stations begin to work against either the ruling or opposition political parties at the expense of the public who need information.

Mr. Kapeya is on a familiarization tour of media houses in Luapula and Northern provinces.