Misa Zambia bemoans impact of load shedding on radio stations

The radio industry has not been spared by the current power load shedding crisis which has hit the entire country.
This came to light during the MISA Zambia Radio Indaba 2015, being held in Lusaka.
Breeze FM staffer, Juliana Banda, reports that MISA Zambia, Chairperson, Helen Mwale says that operational costs for all radio stations have immensely gone up due to power load shedding.
Ms Mwale has charged that due to the high cost of running radio, some radio stations have been forced to shut down or to bear the high costs at the expense of incurring business losses.
She has appealed to government to consider reducing duty on generators and transmitters among other equipment if the impact is to lessen in the radio industry.
Ms Mwale has also charged that due to limited resources, community radio stations are facing serious sustainability challenges, such as failure to train staff, failure to attract qualified personnel as well as failure to maintain and buy improved equipment.
Ms Mwale further says that political threats and interference have continued to make it even more difficult for radio stations to operate more effectively in Zambia.
She has implored the radio stations in the country to continue being resilient as they carry out their mandate of informing the citizens.