LTA Supports Broadcaster Training-Liberty Connect Completes Buchanan Ganta Series

MONROVIA – Community radio stations shape local understanding, but weak compliance with licensing and content rules can undermine responsible broadcasting across Liberia. The Liberia Telecommunications Authority-supported workshops in Buchanan and Ganta brought regulators, broadcasters and communications specialists into direct policy discussion. Liberty Connect Liberia designed the two-part series to explain frequency regulation, licensing procedures, spectrum management and professional obligations. The initiative matters because congestion, unauthorized operations and harmful content can weaken public trust and complicate an already limited frequency environment. Officials emphasized that permits and licenses carry enforceable conditions, while participants called for better coordination between the responsible agencies. Lasting improvement will depend on continued practical training and consistent enforcement beyond these two workshops. The Analyst reports.

MONROVIA: Community radio stations across Nimba County over the weekend benefited from a two-day intensive training workshop in Ganta City organized by local telecommunications consultancy firm Liberty Connect Liberia Inc., with support from the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA).

The workshop focused on understanding FM radio regulations, licensing requirements and processes, and promoting responsible broadcasting.

The Ganta training was the second in a series that began in Buchanan the previous week. Both workshops featured stimulating engagements and interactive sessions facilitated by technical experts from the LTA, Ministry of Information (MOI) and Liberty Connect Liberia.

The facilitators emphasized the need for radio stations to comply with existing regulations and maintain professional standards across Liberia’s broadcasting sector. The training also provided broadcasters with information about frequency management, licensing procedures and responsible content production.

Massaquoi Outlines Regulatory Mandate

LTA Board Chairman Clarence K. Massaquoi delivered the keynote address at the opening of the Buchanan training. He commended the stakeholders and Liberty Connect Liberia for the “impressive gathering,” explaining that it demonstrated why the LTA agreed to support the initiative in a “fast-moving and improving communication sector.”

Massaquoi stated that one of the LTA’s primary responsibilities was to protect all participants in the sector while advancing Liberia’s telecommunications industry. “This FM Radio Regulations Sensitisation workshop is part of our five-year strategic plan aimed at advancing the telecommunication sector of which broadcasting is a key part,” he declared.

The LTA chairman explained that the authority was established in 2007 through an Act of the National Legislature. He noted that its operations incorporated key global principles governing FM regulation, spectrum efficiency, transparency, safety and accountability, with a mandate to ensure international best practices and enforcement.

Massaquoi stressed that the LTA was working to reform Liberia’s telecommunications sector to keep pace with rapidly changing satellite and telecommunications technology worldwide. He also called for similar FM radio-frequency regulation training to be conducted in other areas, including Montserrado County, where available data showed that frequencies were nearly exhausted.

Broadcasters Urged To Follow Rules

Delivering opening remarks at both the Buchanan and Ganta workshops, LTA Board Member Commissioner Ben A. Fofana underscored the importance of the training to the authority. Fofana, who oversees the Department of Licensing and Regulations, stated that the LTA needed to reach communities and educate the public about telecommunications regulations and provisions.

He explained that sustained public education would help improve regulatory compliance and broadcasting standards. “We are here to make you know the rules and follow the rules, to make broadcast responsible,” Fofana stated.

The commissioner emphasized the importance of FM radio broadcasters complying with LTA regulations. Without such compliance, he warned, Liberia’s broadcasting sector risked becoming chaotic.

Ministry of Information Communications Bureau Director Agatha Thompson-Venn urged participants to regularize their operational status with the ministry. She admonished FM radio station managers and broadcasters to ensure responsible broadcasting while guarding against misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.

Thompson-Venn explained that the ministry worked with both print and electronic media institutions on content regulation to promote responsible journalism. She stressed that media institutions must operate according to the conditions under which their permits and licenses were granted.

“When MOI issues the permit it is not a license to act outside the agreed terms of the permit because without the MOI permit, the LTA will not proceed with processing and granting the license/authorization,” Thompson-Venn stated. Her intervention highlighted the connected roles of the ministry and LTA in regulating content and issuing broadcast authorization.

Stations Seek Regulatory Coordination

Community radio managers, employees and civil society representatives attending the workshops provided feedback on the existing regulatory framework. They called for greater coordination between the Ministry of Information and LTA in implementing the 2019 Regulations and Guidelines.

Participants specifically raised issues concerning the different categories of FM radio stations and licenses. They also sought greater clarity regarding the duration of permits and licenses, among other regulatory matters.

The Ganta workshop successfully concluded the two-part sensitization series that began in Buchanan. Organizers maintained that the engagements were intended to strengthen regulatory compliance and professional standards within Liberia’s broadcasting sector.

Liberty Connect Liberia Inc. is an information technology and communications firm with years of experience in the sector. The firm organized the Buchanan and Ganta workshops with financial support from the LTA.