Liberia: Snowe, Karwor others Want Estelle Kemoh Retained at LBS

National leaders and stakeholders are calling on the incoming Unity Party (UP) government to retain Estelle Kemoh as the Director General of the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS).

National leaders who have expressed support for Kemoh’s retention at the state broadcaster are Bomi County Senator Edwin M. Snowe, Chairman of the National Traditional Council of Liberia Chief Zanzan Karwor, Internal Affairs Minister Varney Sirleaf, and Information Minister Ledgerhood J. Rennie.

They said under Kemoh’s guidance since her appointment three years ago, there have been no protests over employee salaries and benefits.

He also lauded her leadership for renovating and furnishing the previous building, which hosted the studios of ELBC in the 1970s and 80s. That building now hosts state-of-the-art studios.

“We are grateful to God for Estelle Kemoh’s leadership who went all out to get resources to turn ELBC into state of an art,” the Bomi Senator said at the launch of the National Language Radio at LBS on Monday, January 8, in Paynesville. Snowe termed the National Language Radio as Kemoh's legacy project.

“Void of politics, we want to appeal to the President-elect Boakai to retain for her good work — let’s get work to serve as a campaign to be retained.” 

Like Snowe, Chief Karwor, Minister Sirleaf, and Minister Rennie also commended Kemoh for her achievements in infrastructure development, technical advancements, and human capacity development during her three-year tenure.

In a separate event, Karwor, Sirleaf, and Rennie also echoed the call for Kemoh to be retained.

They emphasized the importance of her contributions to the rebranding and transformation of the state radio, urging the government to consider the positive impact achieved under her leadership.

The new National Language Radio, with a frequency of 97.7MHZ, aims to educate, entertain, and provide information to rural communities.

It will broadcast in 16 different languages, including Sarpo and Gbe, dedicating more time to each language program compared to the previous 10 minutes.

Isaac G. Redd, Sr., the Deputy Director for Rural Broadcasting, highlighted the responsibility of the Rural Broadcasting Division to educate and inform rural communities about the vision and policies of the government.

Redd stressed the importance of accurate information dissemination to the rural masses across Liberia's 15 subdivisions.

He said the Rural Broadcasting Division also has a shared responsibility with the Technical Department to oversee and ensure the successful operation of all LBS relay stations across Liberia.

“It is against the backdrop of executing our mandate that the Division is hosting personnel of various languages who are mainly responsible for informing, educating, and entertaining the rural people on the policies and other activities of government in the various local languages.”

Accordingly, the Rural Broadcasting Department has suffered an illness of air time, thereby denying rural masses adequate and accurate information, which is a dis-service to rural dwellers across the fifteen Sub-Divisions of Liberia.

Estelle Kemoh, the Director General of LBS, described the launch of the National Language Radio as a refined restoration of the original purpose of the Liberia Broadcasting System.

“This is an expanded broadcast service that initially incorporated the Liberia Rural Communications Network (LRCN) — a valuable component that was devastated during our civil conflict,” she said. “It has been 43 long years waiting, and today a new approach to give rural dwellers, all Liberian languages, a true voice, is fully in place with the erection of the first Liberia National Language Radio.”

She acknowledged the challenges faced by previous administrations in accommodating multiple Liberian language programming on the English national radio channel. Kemoh expressed gratitude for the support of the Minister of Information and the Board Chairman, reaffirming their commitment to promoting the government’s agenda through the new platform.

The dedication of the National Language Radio marks a significant step towards utilizing modern technology and communication to connect with rural communities. Kemoh emphasized the importance of developing vernacular programs that address the needs and aspirations of rural dwellers, focusing on development communication and promoting Liberian arts, culture, and national reconciliation.

The launch of the National Language Radio, alongside the existing Entertainment Radio Metro FM 89.9, reflects a transformative period at LBS. Kemoh expressed her gratitude to President George Manneh Weah and the Minister of Information for their support and confidence in the management of the national broadcast service.