The Home of Representatives has handed an act for the Possession, Administration, Licensing, and Operation of Neighborhood Radio Stations in Liberia.
By Bridgett Milton
Capitol Hill, December 5, 2025: The Home selected Thursday throughout its common session following a complete assessment by the Joint Committee on Info, Broadcasting, and Judiciary.
The invoice, initially submitted by Rep. Nyahn G. Flomo on June 4, 2024, goals to ascertain a sustainable and clear regulatory framework for the neighborhood radio sector, recognizing its crucial function in Liberia’s peace-building efforts, nationwide improvement, and the dissemination of public data.
Based on Rule 31.4 of the Home of Representatives Guidelines and Procedures, the invoice underwent due diligence, together with public hearings and prolonged stakeholder consultations.
On June 28, 2024, the Joint Committee, in partnership with Internews /USAID, convened a well-attended one-day public listening to on the Creed Lodge in Marshall, Margibi County. Members included representatives from the Ministry of Info, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism (MICAT), the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and neighborhood radio practitioners throughout the nation.
The report from the Joint Committee explains the participatory course of and gives a matrix of key stakeholder issues together with the Committee’s corresponding suggestions.
‘’A transparent definition of a neighborhood within the context of neighborhood radio, Provisions to make sure real neighborhood possession and administration, a structured pathway to consolidate a number of stations into one per neighborhood after 5 years’’.
The committee suggestion said that strengthened licensing procedures to curb fraud, together with a requirement for a notarized Board Decision and clarification of the regulatory roles of MICAT and the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) throughout the licensing framework.
Additionally, the institution of a Neighborhood Radio Nationwide Budgetary Allocation Administration Committee to manage an annual 0.25% allocation from the Nationwide Finances for the sustainability of the sector, and to boost transparency and accountability measures governing political and private donations to neighborhood radio stations.
Upon presenting its findings, the Joint Committee really helpful that the proposed changes be formally included into the invoice and circulated to all Home members. Following its third studying, Plenary voted overwhelmingly to go the Act and ahead it to the Liberian Senate for concurrence. Edited by Othello B. Garblah.
