Demonstration Hits Adom Fm

Concerned listeners of Adom Fm in Accra, Tema and Ashaiman have threatened to stage a massive demonstration in Tema to protest what they describe as the unfair treatment of certain staff of the radio station by its management.

According to the group, the demonstration, originally scheduled for February 2, had to be postponed to February 24 to give management of Adom Fm enough time to find a solution to the problems raised by the group on Monday.

BEATWAVES learnt that at a meeting with management of Adom Fm , the group declared that presenters such as Afia Pokua and a few others who had been relocated should be brought back since they had contributed to the progress of the station.

But a source close to management explained that the problem could not be addressed at management level as it was a decision to be taken by the board of directors.

The source said the grievances of the group had already been forwarded to the board of directors, who would communicate their final decision to the group as soon as possible.

The source continued that the changes made at the station were to improve and strengthen its programmes in order to satisfy the demand of listeners.

At the meeting, the group gave the management of the station a grace period to address their concerns or would be forced to take to the streets of Tema and Accra later this month.

In a petition signed by the president of the Concerned Listeners of Adom Fm, Kofi Nana Opoku, the group stated that it was not happy about the way the station was being managed, and called for the removal of Adakabre Frimpong Manso, the host of the morning show and Akosua Safoa Kantinpo.

‘Adakabre should be kicked out of Adom Fm because he is doing more harm than good to the station. The way and manner he handles the morning show puts listeners off. Listeners do not find the morning show very interesting and always turn their radio off during that time,’ the petition noted.

The petition also called on management of the station to bring back presenters like Odei Ampofo, Eddie Kay, Dr Duncan, Ekuoba Gyasi and Daddy Bosco, then the programmes manager, to help revamp the image of the station.

It again appealed to management of the station to bring back Afia Pokua to handle the newspaper review. ‘We don’t want Akosua Safoa Kintinpo; Nana Yaa Boaponsem should be allowed to read the 12:00 and 6:00pm news bulletins.’

The source however argued that listeners did not have the right to interfere in the station’s affairs since they didn’t contribute financially towards its growth.

The source declared that the demonstration would not help the group in any way since the concerns raised in the petition were being addressed at the board level.

Kofi Nana Opoku, in a chat with BEATWAVES , disclosed that when the leaders of the group met the management of the station in Tema ‘we made the management to understand that we are not happy with the decision of the management of the station to drop some known presenters on air.’

In response to the petition, the management of the station, in a letter dated January 31, signed by William Amoabeng and Klaus Von Backustein, Human Resource Manager and Chief Operating Officer respectively, said that it was very gratifying to know how passionate and dedicated the group was to the station and wished that it remained the ultimate choice for listeners across the country.

The letter continued that ‘we believe that our meeting with you on January 30 was very fruitful. You gave us a lot of feedback while we also had the opportunity to offer explanations on some of the issues raised in the letter which we hope will give you better appreciation on our internal operations and leadership direction.

‘As explained at the meeting, some of the matters of concern are purely board decisions and could not be addressed at our level. We have therefore forwarded your letter to our board of director for their review. We will communicate whatever response they may have as soon as they get back to us’.

By George Clifford Owusu