Radio Maendeleo and the Regional Peace Process in Eastern Congo

Prepared for International Media Support (IMS), this 15-page report examines a local community radio station called Radio Maendeleo (RM), described here as "one of the few independent media outlets in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo." Based in the town of Bukavu, the provincial capital of the South Kivu province, RM has been broadcasting content related to political and developmental issues since 1994. The radio broadcasts mainly in French and Swahili; however, 8 times per week, a 15-minute period is set aside for local ethnic groups to broadcast cultural or other affairs in their own language.

Author/researcher Bjørn Willum here analyses the role played by RM in the regional peace process in South Kivu. He first briefly outlines time and place for the interviews he conducted as part of the evaluation process, then provides an overview of RM’s activities and financial situation. Following this, Willum discusses RM’s role in terms of informing the population about political events and its role in the regional peace process. Finally, conclusions are drawn and recommendations outlined.

One element to emerge from Willum's analysis is the presence of RM-associated radio clubs, which "form an integrated part" of the station. The clubs are formed by groups of people who are seeking to inform others of their development projects and experiences, as well as to deliver news on events in their areas - "the latter often synonymous with denouncement of abuses by local authorities." Willum explains that, once a group has found a working method that other people or civil society groups may benefit from - within fields such as civic education, agriculture, alphabetisation, rights, etc. - they create a trial broadcast. Following approval, the club is provided with simple cassette recorders and, in some cases, bicycles to use for passing on messages to RM. This process of forming an independent radio club reportedly involves several meetings and exchange of correspondence and often takes as much as a year.

The effort to create and sustain radio clubs seems to be worthwhile, according to Willum: "In a suburb of Bukavu, the consultant visited three of RM’s Radio Clubs. One young woman had used the radio to gather 300 young girls who had fled villages in the jungle due to insecurity. A woman who ran a vocational center for widows used the radio to broadcast information on micro credit opportunities, while others used RM to avoid soil erosion by informing citizens of the need to preserve trees on certain spots and to place electric bulbs outside houses to decrease the likelihood of theft at night." Willum indicates that RM also publishes a printed newsletter from time to time that is used to exchange information between radio clubs.

An excerpt from the Conclusion and Recommendations section of the report follows:

"RM plays a positive role in informing the local population in and around Bukavu about development issues, local politics as well as coordinating [non-governmental organisation, or] NGO work. However, the limited footprint of the radio prevents is from playing a significant role in the regional peace process. Its regional role could be enhanced significantly by the planned installation of a shortwave transmitter sponsored by the Belgian government.

Another major problem is RM’s inability to gather news in a timely and accurate fashion from most parts of South Kivu (and other places in the Congo) due to financial restrictions on travel outside Bukavu. A first step in solving this problem would naturally be to set aside funds for such travel. However, appointing a professional correspondent in the town of Uvira , about one hundred kilometers south of Bukavu, may also be beneficial since Uvira is situated in the middle of a very dynamic area with Mai-Mai and Burundian Hutu soldiers of the Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie (FDD) that use Congo as a rear base for attacks into Burundi. At the same time, Uvira is covered by mobile telephone networks, thus making speedy reporting back to RM in Bukavu possible. Also, it would be useful to provide Radio Clubs with appropriate training in reporting techniques and thereby enable them to better fill the 'news gap' from their respective areas.

RM enjoys good relationships with various ethnic groups that contribute to broadcasts. However, many Banyamulenge have been reluctant to team up with RM to discuss their sometimes troublesome relationship vis-à-vis other ethnic groups. Nevertheless, RM should work hard to encourage Banyamulenge to participate in on-air discussions in order to inform soberly and in-depth about this issue and thereby counter rumouring.

Such rumouring may not only bring Banyamulenge at risk, but could also contribute to political destabilisation of the region. Serious reporting on the Banyamulenge issue will become even more pertinent if and when the footprint is increased by shortwave transmitter to cover the whole of South Kivu (and North Kivu and parts of Maniema) since it will then reach the majority of the Banyamulenge population that live further south of Bukavu as well as the Banyamulenge army of Patrick Masunzu. Proper reporting on the Banyamulenge issue could also benefit the planned integration of the Mai-Mai and RCD-Goma forces into the new national Congolese army as stipulated in the national peace agreement, since many Mai-Mai have been very hostile to the Banyamulenge who in turn constitute a significant part of the RCD-Goma army.

Financially, RM is limping along. Although staff salaries have not been paid for three months, this budget item is expected to be covered by forthcoming budget support from the German NGO MISEREOR. New digital editing equipment to replace the current old analogue systems is highly desired in the long run, but falls outside the scope of what International Media Support is able to offer..."