The Ministry of Information, Culture Affairs and Tourism says its attention has been drawn to a news report that the Voice of Pleebo Community Radio Station, Pleebo, Maryland County, has been shut down by the Pleebo City Mayor, Wellington Kyne.
A release from MICAT says the ministry has begun an investigation into the matter, working in consultation with the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with a view of ascertaining what led to the abrupt closure of the station by the Mayor, but wishes to emphasize that the government has neither sanctioned nor endorsed the Voice of Pleebo’s closure and has no part to play in the entire situation.
MICAT advised the local authorities to restore the station’s broadcast, pending an amicable resolution of issues that led to the closure.
“The Ministry wants to reiterate that the Administration of President George M. Weah is committed to creating conditions necessary for a pluralistic media environment, which is free of intimidation and muzzling regardless of dissenting views,” the MICAT release noted.
Meanwhile, the Government of Liberia (GOL) has emphasized that MICAT remains the sole government agency clothed with the authority of regulating the media and, therefore, urged everyone to ensure that its functions are not usurped.