Radio still our main source of information — West Nile residents
According to Sanya, given the unique challenges of West Nile mainly electricity, most people continue to access vital information from the radio as opposed to TV except in a few trading centres where sports activities and entertainment joints are staged.
Most youths watch TVs for sports and entertainment purposes. ( photos by Robert Adiga)
NewVision Reporter
@NewVision
Several West Nile residents say the radio is still their major source of information.
The sentiments follow the release of the 2024 National Population and Housing Census report by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) recently, which indicated that more Ugandans are now using TV as their primary source of information.
The report reveals that at least 14 per cent of Ugandans indicated that they are using TV as their source of information which is double from 2014 figures.
The report indicates that radio declined from 55 per cent in 2014 to 38 per cent in 2024.
While in ownership, the census statistics reveal that 41 per cent of Ugandans own radio sets while 23 per cent own TVs.
We are not there yet
While many residents of West Nile acknowledge the authenticity of the data provided, they say the radio has continued to be the main source of information with a few residents able to afford and utilise TVs for productive information.
The mayor of Koboko Municipality Wilson Sanya said most people continue to access vital information from the radio as opposed to TV except in a few trading centres.
Among some of the key reasons advanced for the dissenting opinion is that the region is predominantly rural where ownership of TVs is negligible and the costs associated with TV such as service fees or subscriptions and the lack of reliable electricity among others.
Arua city's Ayivu North male councillor Godfrey Anguyo says only one per cent of the population in his area is connected to electricity.
He argues that the data could have been driven from other well-to-do regions such as central Uganda to give a generalised picture.
The story is not any different in Koboko municipality according to its mayor, Wilson Sanya.
According to him, given the unique challenges of West Nile mainly electricity, most people continue to access vital information from the radio as opposed to TV except in a few trading centres where sports activities and entertainment joints are staged.
“Most of the youth access TVs from trading centres where they watch football or at betting centres which are restricted only to entertainment,” Sanya says.
Freda Janet, a journalist, cited a scenario in her village where only a few well-off families can afford iron-roofed houses suitable for electricity connection coupled with costs associated with electricity connection and the poor attitude of the community.
Statistics from the 2021 Twaweza Sauti za wananchi survey indicated that in Uganda, most of the citizens just like those of other East African countries use radios as the main medium of information.
According to the Twaweza sauti za wananchi 2021 Report, 52% of the households in the country owned radios as opposed to 23% of households owning TVs in the country.
Meanwhile, for Yumbe district education officer Rasul Luriga, they continue to pass important messages through the radios as it forms the channel through which over 95 per cent of their targeted audience get their information.
He also cited the cost associated with accessing information through TV such as the subscription as detrimental factors in promoting TV usage.
Gen-Zs and TVs
Some of the youth concurred with the data released by UBOS saying the 21st century youth want to witness what happens live on TV or on their smartphones as opposed to the old generation that sticks to the radio as the primary source of information.
Irene Keji, a South Sudanese refugee in Arua city, concurs with the report saying the young people watch what they read and see the action.
“I see it is mostly the old who stick to the radio but the youngsters love watching the issues either through smartphones or TVs," Kaji said.
Joy Gie Rama, a Senior Two student from Springs Secondary School in Arua district, said the report is right since the youths of 21st century prefer watching events as they happen.
“People want to get updated with what is happening through TV, a reason many people struggle to acquire TVs sets unlike the old culture where people stick to radios,” said Gie Rama.
According to statistics by Twaweza Sauti za Wananchi, in 2020, radio remained the main source of information for Ugandans at 60 per cent while only 34 per cent of Ugandans use TV as their main source of information while word of mouth had a significant portion of 49 per cent, public meetings 24 per cent, social media 11 per cent and the least main source of information are newspapers at only eight per cent.