FATA Secretariat to relaunch defunct radio stations

Temporary employees complain of not being paid for last six months.

PESHAWAR:

The Fata Secretariat plans to relaunch three state-run radio stations in the tribal belt and hire new staff for the purpose.

The defunct stations, funded by foreign donors, were established in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency, and Miranshah and Ramzak in North Waziristan. They, however, were shut down last year due to lack of funding.

Employees working in these stations were hired without contracts till the funds lasted, Fata Secretariat Director Information Fazalullah told The Express Tribune. “When the funds ended in June 2012, we kept the employees on payroll from additional funds of Rs3 million till December 2012, after which we stopped paying salaries.”



Fazalullah said staffers were told at the time of recruitment they could be terminated without prior notice, but stressed those still working for the stations will be paid for their services.

He said a selection committee will conduct fresh hiring and current employees will not be regularised – a move that does not sit well with those recruited earlier.

“We have been working in a warzone and no one is paying us,” claimed one such employee requesting anonymity. He maintained they have been working for five months without pay and were now being asked to leave.

“This is not a private organisation, then why are they exploiting employees,” said another angry staffer.

Crucial instrument

The stations are popular as they broadcast information regarding the government’s policies. In a region wracked by militancy, radio can be a crucial instrument of mass media. Tribesmen also called in to their favourite programmes which received phone calls from listeners.

Hence, locals are keen on their resumption. They claimed the Fata Secretariat stopped taking an interest in these channels, which were a key source of keeping them informed, and urged authorities to take concrete steps for their revival.

The radio station in Miranshah was inaugurated in July 2004 by the then K-P governor Iftikhar Hussain. It played an important role in disseminating information, especially regarding curfew timings in the tribal region.

The initial team at Miranshah radio was nine-member-strong, including a station manager, four engineers and supervisors.

Staffers told The Express Tribune the station is funded by USAID and works under the umbrella of the Fata Secretariat. In 2010, they had to wind up operations for the first time in the last nine years. The station started airing public service messages again this year, but will be relaunched along with the other two.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2013.