Tumu, (UWR), May 15, GNA - Professor Kwame Karikari, Executive Direc= tor of Media Foundation for West Africa, has the staff of RADFORD FM, a newly=

established Community Radio Station in Tumu, to uphold the highest standa= rds of broadcasting ethics and professionalism. He said the media scene in Ghana was currently full of problems of standards, adding; "The community radio should stand above such misuse of=

the great development asset that radio can be". Professor Karikari said this in a speech read for him during the commissioning of the station at Tumu in the Sissala East District of the Upper West Region. The station, which was established through the collaborative effort of the Sissala Youth Network, Plan Ghana International and Sissala East and West District Assemblies, was aimed at mobilizing the communities in the two districts for development through the power of radio. Professor Karikari, who was the consulting supervisor to the establishment of the station, said the present media landscape was plague= d with political, partisan and other sectarian biases that had unduly polarized the country and created hatred. He urged the management of the station to look for quality news and build excellent community radio documentaries that would help strengthen the understanding of the people about society and their environment. Mr Samuel Paulos, Plan Ghana Country Director, said the Plan Ghana supported the establishment of the radio station to promote advocacy, gen= der mainstreaming and participatory decision making.

He said the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey had it that onl= y 13.6 percent men and 9.5 percent women in the Upper West Region had acces= s to newspaper and television sets which were relatively expensive. Mr Paulos said access to information was critical and that radio remained the best alternative to information in the rural communities. He entreated management of the station to use local language in the dissemination of information to enhance good understanding as well as to nurture the development of local language and culture to prevent them fro= m being extinct. Madam Florence Hayen Zaato, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of RADFORD FM, appealed to the National Media Commission to give the station=

full authorization to roll out programmes in totality.

She gave the assurance that the station would produce community-centered development programmes targeted at achieving key Millennium Development Goals such as poverty alleviation, maternal and ch= ild health and good environmental health management practices. She said the station would strive to give a voice to the marginalise= d in society especially women and children to articulate their views on issues that affected their wellbeing. Madam Zaato said the station would strictly adhere to community radi= o principles of being non-sectarian and non-partisan at all times.