COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER YUNUS CARRIM HOLD TALKS WITH SOUTHSIDE FM RADIO

SOUTHSIDE INFORMS MINISTER ABOUT THE URGENT NEED FOR FREQUENCY The Minister of Communications, Mr Yunus Carrim, has held talks with officials of Southside FM Radio about their long and drawn-out struggles for a frequency that is delaying the launch of the radio station. Mr Carrim met Southside officials at the Coastlands Hotel in Umhlanga on Saturday, January 18, afternoon. The Southside officials at the talks were Mr Balan Gounder(chairperson); Mr Swaminathan Gounden, Mrs Sally Padaychie, widow of the late Cabinet Minister, Mr Roy Padaychie; Ms Keresha Govender(treasurer); Mr Denis Naidoo; Mr Sumeshen Moodley; and Mr Subry Govender, veteran struggle journalist who is the secretary of the initiative that began five years ago. The meeting was first to have been held in early November last year but had to be postponed after one of Southside's senior officials had travelled to Mauritius to attend a world Tamil Solidarity Conference. The meeting was subsequently scheduled for Decemember 10 last year but had to postponed once again because of the sad demise of South Africa's first democratic president and freedom icon, Nelson Mandela. Minister to have more information for Southside on January 27. The Minister informed the Southside officials that "urgent investigations are being undertaken to see whether Southside can be given a frequency to broadcast via the Bluff transmitter". "We will inform you formally in a letter later this month on January 27," said the Minister. Grateful to Minister for talks For their part, Southside officials thanked Minister Carrim for making his "precious" time available to meet with them. They pointed out that the supporters, donors and sponsors of Southside are "disturbed" at the lack of a frequency for them to start broadcasting. Mr Balan Gounder, chairperson of Southside The chairperson, Mr Gounder, told the Minister that "a lot of work has been put into this project over the past five years in order to get our progressive radio station off the ground". Southside supporters and donors disturbed He said: "We have been made to believe since the beginning by ICASA and Sentech that there were no problems in granting us a frequency. "We cannot understand why - in this day and age of modern technology - that we are being frustrated. "The new non-racial and democratic South Africa has made provision for almost all cultural groups to be catered for in so far as radio stations are concerned - but we - who make up an important part of South Africa's population - are being frustrated in our attempts. In fact we make up more than 60 percent of people of Indian-origin in South Africa. "We want to play not only a progressive role in the new South Africa but we also want to play a developmental role in promoting the ideals, values, and principles for which leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Dr Monty Naicker and Dr Yusuf Dadoo had sacrificed and died for. Southside to promote values of Nelson Mandela, Dr Monty Naicker and others "When we launch we would have on our programme the teaching of isiZulu to our target market so that social cohesion - which is an important part of our new South Africa - is taken seriously." Mr Gounder also told the Minister that they had reached a stage where they had to put on hold "the construction of our studio and recruitment of our staff members until we are granted our frequency". "What we are experiencing is very painful and causing frustration among members of our target market. "We cannot allow this state of affairs in our new non-racial and democratic South Africa." The officials of Southside have been negotiating for a frequency ever since the project was first started in 2009. The officials are hoping that Minister Carrim's intervention will result in positive developments soon and they would officially launch the radio station within a short period of time. Once the frequency is finalised, the Board of Governors of Southside will formally decide on their premises, build the studio and appoint the necessary staff. Southside has been offered premises to broadcast from the Mariammen Cultural Centre in Mount Edgecombe. The officials have also received scores of applications from interested people who want to become presenters, advertising representatives, reporters and office staff. (Those who have already applied for positions and others have been asked to contact Mr Subry Govender at: subrygovender@gmail.com)