Contact Details:
Main Office
address
GRTS
Website:
www.grts.gm
Serrekunda Exchange
Complex
PO Box 387
Banjul
MDI Road,
Kanifing, KSMD
The Gambia
West Africa
Telephone number:
4378072
4378125
4378121
4378090
4375692 (Marketing)
4374242 (Recording studio)
4495 101/4497 419 (Radio)
Fax: +220 4394615
or 4495 102
Email: info@grts.gm
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Background Information:
GRTS is The
Gambia's only
public service broadcaster.
In December 1995 the Government commissioned the Gambia Radio and
Television Service (GRTS) TV station under the umbrella of Gambia
Telecommunications Company (Gamtel).
to perform test transmissions from a 5KW transmitter situated at Abuko
catering for the
Greater
Banjul Area.
Later, a couple of transmitting stations
were erected at the villages of Bansang and Soma inland to achieve national
broadcasting
coverage. Despite these earlier efforts some areas of The Gambia, in
particular the up-river regions still
remain outside the airing range.
Since the moment of its commissioning, GRTS has operated
as a public service station in the tradition of the older established
Radio Gambia. The majority of the programmes are dedicated to a news, public
service announcements, education, entertainment and religious
programmes. Broadcasts are made in all the 4 main languages as well as English
and French. Some programmes from foreign sources like the
BBC News of the UK,
CNN of the USA,
Deutsche Welle of Germany and
CFI of France are also regularly
shown within the GRTS station’s programme schedule.
As more and more television units become financially accessible to
families, GRTS has become an ever more vital and effective means of
communication.
In 2002 the Government completed building the stations headquarters to
accommodate the GRTS's administrative, technical, and
operational needs.
GRTS, Programming & National Development:
The importance of Television broadcasting for socio-economic
development of the Gambia cannot be over emphasised. Knowledge and
information are fundamental drivers of increased productivity and are
seminal to invention, innovation and wealth creation. GRTS runs programmes on new innovations in
appropriate technology in agriculture as a way of educating our
farming communities. This has tremendous impact on agricultural output
of farmers and has resulted in improved production, especially in rice
and vegetables.
Agriculture being the backbone of the country’s economy, it is crucial to show programmes that
can improve farming methods, increase yields and ultimately increase
food sufficiency and food security. This in turn is believed to reduce
poverty levels, improves health status the Gambian people, in line
with the goals and objectives of our Poverty Reduction Strategy.
One of the critical problems facing Gambian society today is the
spread of HIV/AIDS within population. This disease if not
contained or minimised will have a detrimental effect on The Gambia's
socio-economic development as it also affects the young and most energetic
members of the society. With
series of programmes shown by TV on the AIDS epidemic many in the
society came to grips with realities that the disease is real and can
be avoided.
These and other programmes are a very essential ingredient of
poverty reduction strategy and need to be expanded to cover all areas
of the country.
Other GRTS programmes of major importance to poverty reduction
carried by the national TV relates to women and women-related issues.
In the Gambia, women do the majority of the agricultural production, and
programmes that help educate and empower them are crucial in the drive
to gain self-sufficiency in food production and economic
prosperity.
Plans for Future Development:
It is apparent that if GRTS television is to become a truly credible
national service, it must establish a widespread presence
throughout the Gambia and be more up-to-date with recent developments in
education,
agriculture, infrastructural and health care service
provision. provision.
An essential point in planning ahead is the training of
people and the creation of a second channel
for increased viewer options and spread and to reduce the already
congested channel.
A number of GRTS engineers and producers have had the benefit of
international training and awareness, while some organisations have
also operated training courses in Gambia in an attempt to reach as
many trainees as possible.
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