Radio Centrafrique is a state-run radio broadcaster in the Central African Republic. The station operates with limited resources as it has repeatedly suffered from looting. Two transmitters were stolen in 2013, forcing the station only to broadcast FM in Bangui. Radio Centrafrique can only broadcast nearly 50% of the programs normally planned in its general schedule.
Media assets
Radio: Radio Centrafrique
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Radio Centrafrique is run like a state media agency. Its management lacks autonomy. Every decision made at the station has to be approved by the Ministry of Communication and Media (for example, decisions about acquiring equipment or recruiting journalists). The station operates as a ministry directorate, with its top management selected by the ministry under the influence of the President. A general manager (Directeur général) oversees Radio Centrafrique. Lacking a financial department of its own, Radio Centrafrique has no autonomy in financial or human resources management.
Source of funding and budget
The annual budget of Radio Centrafrique is included in the governmental allocation to the Ministry of Communication and Media. Any income generated by the station (advertisements or charges for broadcasting of communique) is collected by the National Treasury, which has dedicated staff in charge of collecting this money who sit in the Ministry of Communication and Media office building. According to an older (2014) station assessment carried out by Internews, the funds then go to the ministry’s budget. Local journalists, however, say that the situation hasn’t changed to date, according to data obtained from them in 2020. The government also previously sourced the funds to cover the costs incurred from migrating the station’s programs from analogue to digital broadcasting.
Editorial independence
Although after 2013, the government limited its pressures on the station, Radio Centrafrique remains a state-run outlet whose programming is shaped to a large degree by the ministry where it operates. The station’s independence is also affected by the lack of a culture of investigation and solid news reporting, with journalists routinely spending their time reporting on news conferences organized by the government, political actors and international organizations.
Radio Centrafrique’s news and information content is mainly focused on the government’s activities and agenda. The pro-government bias is not created by selecting favorable opinions but by a quasi-absence of critics, as the radio journalists do not give space in their programs to the government’s opponents. This decision results from government control of the station’s editorial agenda, which prevents critical views or opposition voices from appearing on Radio Centrafrique’s programs.
Radio Centrafrique has no domestic statute that establishes and guarantees its editorial independence. Its status within the Ministry of Communication and Media limits its independence and capacity to diversify the supply of programs, develop new types of content, and adjust its human resources.
No independent assessment mechanism to validate the editorial independence of Radio Centrafrique has been identified.
July 2024