Grassroots Radio - The Journey is Still Difficult

(Baonghean.vn) -The journey to build a system of commune and ward radio stations - abbreviated as Grassroots Radio Stations (TTCS) - has been a process of decades, but it was not until 2007 that Nghe An issued the Regulations on the organization and operation of TTCS Stations. Since then, 5 years have passed, TTCS is still facing many difficulties and is still focusing on building new programs and projects to continue this arduous journey...

Mr. Dang Khac Thang, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Communications, recalled: In 2007, when the relevant departments advised the province to issue the Regulation on the organization and operation of the TTCS station, the most difficult thing was to propose increasing the number of full-time TTCS staff to 2 people and raising the allowance for this full-time team from 203 thousand VND/month to 280 thousand VND/month, which had to go through many meetings and negotiations before being approved. But now, that allowance is too low compared to the general level. It is worth mentioning that after the issuance of the Regulation on the organization and operation of the TTCS station, both the number of full-time staff and their allowance have improved. However, up to now, many localities still face many difficulties due to limited budgets, rising prices and many other reasons.

Equipment system at Hung Binh Ward Radio Station (Vinh City).
Photo: Huu Tuan

The biggest difficulty at present is that the TTCS operating equipment is damaged due to lack of conditions for maintenance, repair and replacement, so most of the TTCS stations are always in a state of "paralysis", especially in mountainous districts. Currently, Nghe An has 2 types of equipment: wired information (amplifiers) mainly for lowland localities and wireless information (FM transmitters) mainly for mountainous districts. The disadvantage of wired information is that because it is connected to the power grid, it is prone to dangerous short circuits and fires, the large capacity consumes a lot of energy, the sound quality is poor, and it is difficult to set up in high mountainous areas and sparsely populated areas...

As for the wireless communication system, it was supported by the National Target Program from 2003-2009, with the Provincial Ethnic Minorities Committee as the project owner. After more than 7 years (2003-2009), 89 stations were installed in 89 communes in 10 mountainous districts. In the first 4 years (2003-2006), 14-16 stations were installed each year. In the following 3 years (2007-2009), only 9-10 stations were installed each year. Currently, most of the wireless communication stations are in a state of disrepair due to lack of funds for maintenance, repair, and replacement; some stations have tried to fix it, but due to the lack of synchronized components, it is still difficult to operate.

Recognizing the difficulties of the above-mentioned TTCS system, since 2011, thanks to the support of the National Target Program, Nghe An has been selected to simultaneously implement 3 projects under the program "Bringing information to mountainous, remote, border and island areas in Nghe An province". The 3 projects are: Project 1 "Strengthening the capacity of TTCS staff", Project 2 "Strengthening the infrastructure for the TTCS system", Project 3 "Strengthening the content of information and propaganda on policies for mountainous, border and island areas and program management".

In 2011, DA1 and DA2 were implemented, and in 2012, DA3 is being implemented. With DA3, in 2012, a number of tasks were implemented such as establishing the Program Management Board; reviewing the content of books under DA3, developing a draft plan for the 5-year program (2011-2015), organizing the implementation of the program content of DA3 to units and localities... Currently, the program is being urgently implemented and has many advantages. It is believed that with this program, the TTCS system in Nghe An will be improved in many aspects and overcome the difficulties in both the quality of specialized staff and equipment, TTCS content as before.

Mai Ho Minh