Anti-corruption drive: CONAC partners with community radio stations to enhance nationwide grassroots coverage.

It was chaired by CONAC Chairman, Rev Dr Dieudonné Massi Gams, and attended by the heads of all the 22 concerned community radios.

The partnership aims to further strengthen CONAC’s multifaceted anti-corruption drive through the production and broadcast of specialised radio programmes in local languages by sensitising the target communities. 

The signing followed a series of activities organised by CONAC to select community radio stations fit enough to carry on strongly with the high-esteemed campaign at the grassroots level.

According to CONAC Chairman, Rev Dr Massi Games, the selection process started in June last year with a preliminary phase featuring some 75 radio stations selected throughout the country. 

The screening process culminated with a test which led to the selection of the 22 radio stations that made the overall final list for the partnership. 

According to the details of the agreement presented by Irene Morikang, Head of CONAC’s Prevention and Communication Division, the radio stations are, as requirement by the deal, expected to produce and broadcast anti-corruption radio programmes and messages in various formats in local languages. 

The programmes will be broadcast at prime time and in one or more fixed time slots at least once a week. The radio stations will take responsibility for the content of their respective programmes and at the end of each quarter, send their respective programmes to CONAC. 

The independent anti-corruption body will, on its part, provide the radio stations with information on the fight against corruption in Cameroon and the activities of CONAC through a WhatsApp group named “CONAC Langues Locales”.

The CONAC body will also organise training courses for the concerned radio stations on the fight against corruption and ensure the payment of the accompanying technical charges through bank transfers. 

CONAC boss says partnership will boost corruption drive 

Speaking in his address and an interview shortly after the signing ceremony yesterday, CONAC boss, Rev Dr Massi Gams, said the collaboration with the local radio stations and broadcasters will push the country’s already multifaceted anti-corruption drive to an all-new fruitful level.

He said the community radio stations will, through their status as institutions that are highly trusted by the local communities at the grassroots levels, help CONAC in not only denouncing corrupt acts through their programmes, but most importantly help in educating the masses. 

“Our communities are called upon to defend the country and fight against corruption, and those who can better inform and educate them on that are the community radio stations. That is the reason for the signing of this convention because it will help us in collectively fighting against corruption using our local languages,” Rev Dr Massi Gams said.

“We are very confident that this collaboration with the community radio stations will be very fruitful. We will have positive feedbacks. The fight against corruption concerns all Cameroonians. It is not for the people in the major cities. It involves and concerns everybody and each and every one of us is urged to join,” the CONAC boss added.

According to the CONAC Chairman, the independent anti-corruption body will, in the nearest future, expand the partnership with the community radio stations to involve more of such broadcasters so as to get an even wider coverage at the grassroots levels.

Radio station heads say ready to live up to expectation 

In separate interviews after the signing ceremony, the representatives of the radio stations who, before the signing ceremony received some basic trainings on journalism and corruption from CONAC, all declared their readiness to fully deliver and live up to CONAC’s expectations in the programme.

Forkam Moris, the Station Manager of Rainbow FM in Mbengwi, Momo Division of the North Wwst Region, said his radio station will effectively take up the anti-corruption drive through well-packaged programmes and other forms of radio journalism.  

“We have been given the tools to work smoothly and these tools will guide us to be able to carry this message to the masses. With that, we will have good results and a change of attitude at the end,” Forkam said.