Thursday, February 13, as part of the 9th edition of the commemoration of World Radio Day which took place around the theme of the diversity chosen by UNESCO, the National Telecommunications Council (CONATEL), the body regulatory agency has published a brief overview of broadcasting in Haiti. It was also an opportunity for the UNESCO office in Port-au-Prince to sensitize broadcasters on the impact of their programs on the public and to call for responsibility in the face of the phenomenon of disinformation.

CONATEL revealed that in 2019, it existed throughout the national territory 398 broadcasting stations on the FM band, including around sixty community radios and 8 radio stations on the AM band, as well as 111 television stations, authorized to operate in the various geographic coverage areas of the country.

However, the Commission noted that many of these broadcasting stations were not operating legally. Some operate without the required authorizations and others operate with technical parameters that do not comply with the technical standards established by CONATEL, causing harmful interference to existing telecommunications systems.

In addition, within the framework of the regularization of the exploitation of the broadcasting, the National Council of Telecommunications wishes to create a platform of reflection and exchanges to favor a dialogue between the main stakeholders of the broadcasting sector in order to share their views in a neutral setting on the major problems facing the broadcasting sector in Haiti.

"[...] This commemoration reminds us that information is the raw material of all social and economic activity. There is therefore a correlation between the right to information and socio-economic development, good governance, social cohesion guaranteeing peace, public security and the improvement of living together.

The State must guarantee, with the development of broadcasting, the establishment of reliable communication channels in and for the full expression of diversity, taking into account all opinions, all traditions or lifestyles [...]" declared Léon Jean-Marie Guillaume the new Director General of CONATEL on this occasion.

HL/ HaitiLibre