Mampong (Ash), Aug.14, GNA- Government has presented Frequency Moderation (FM) equipment and other items worth 11,000 Dollars to Mighty FM, a private radio station, at Asante Mampong, to promote functional literacy programmes in the area. The presentation which was made on Tuesday at the town, formed part of government's private sector collaboration to promote fundamental human rights and freedom of speech.

The equipment and items included 12-channel broadcasting mixer, micro phones, head phones, CD player, loud speaker, stereo amplifier, wall clock, computer, audio software, CD recordable and microphone stands Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, cautioned both the Non Formal Education Division (NFED) and management of Mighty FM that the equipment was not meant for political propaganda for any political party. He said the radio station should be used in educating the people to understand the voting processes and be responsible citizens who would vote according to their conscience.

Mr Antwi hoped the partnership between the NFED and the radio station would make news and information frequently available to the people within the catchment area of the radio station. "We also expect that both institutions will respect the memorandum of understanding agreed upon to foster good working relationship to achieve efficiency and effectiveness", the Minister said.

Mr. Rockson Kofi Agyekum, Mampong Municipal Chief Executive, expressed gratitude to government for its assistance. He called for a proper maintenance of the new facility to enable the station continue to play its pioneering role in the dissemination of information in the area.

Mr. Francis Asumadu, Ashanti Regional Director of the NFED, said the NFED is an institution mandated by government and the 1992 Constitution of Ghana to implement adult functional literacy programmes. He said it was against this background that the Division organizes night and evening classes at the community level to provide illiterate adults the opportunity to read, write and compute.