Media Maters

In 1991 I was privileged to launch Mali’s first independent FM station ‘Radio Bamakan’. Fifteen years on, my country has one of the most vibrant independent radio sectors in Africa. In Northern Mali, for instance, community stations now cover in depth the annual official performance review of their local communes. The mayors of poorly performing communes who have had their budgets reduced are said to avoid recriminations from their constituents who listen to these radio broadcasts. Independent media has been described as the lynchpin or connective tissue of democracy. The experience of Mali certainly provides strong evidence to support this.