Is everything finally in order at the community radio station, Makhado FM? This is what a number of people have been asking, following the latest re-launch of the station and the appointment of a new (interim) board.

Makhado FM made the news on several occasions over the past year amid reports of infighting and allegations of mismanagement. In January this year, the former station manager, Mr Moses Muneri, was arrested for allegedly stealing a radio transmitter and he was also accused of the mismanagement of funds. These accusations will still be tested in court.

The radio station further had to fend off several creditors, one of them being the landlord who is allegedly owed more than R700 000 in rent. The municipal bill of the station is said to be far in arrears and Telkom discontinued its service a few years ago, following payment problems.

All of this is behind them, however, and things are starting to look a lot better, reckons the station's new management team under the leadership of the new CEO, Mr Junior Ramovha. The station introduced their new board to members of the press last Saturday. Among the board members are people who were involved when the station was started a few years ago, such as Kedibone Makwarela and Roddy Sibiya.

During the press conference, Mr Ramovha was asked about the legal obligations of the radio station, such as making audited financial statements available and having an annual general meeting to which all stakeholders in the community are invited. As a Section 21 company, the license holders are obliged to have audited financial statements and as part of the agreement with Icasa, the station must also have meetings with the community where they report back on issues.

Mr Ramovha chose not to respond to these and other questions posed to him and referred them to the station manager, Mr Takalani Khomola. Mr Khomola later stated that the new board is only an interim board. This was in sharp contrast to the announcement made during Saturday's press conference.

From what Mirror could establish, the (interim) board of Makhado FM was elected three weeks ago. It seems highly unlikely that audited financial statements are available and these have apparently not been available for a number of years.

On the issue of outstanding debt, Khomola first answered that he was busy negotiating terms with the landlord, so that he could pay back the money. He later said that he had already paid the landlord R3 000. He then contradicted himself when he stated that there was no proof that the radio station owed such an amount for rent, adding that if the landlord could provide proof, the station would pay the money.

Khomola announced that the radio station would hold its AGM on 28 April. Asked about the financial statements, Khomola said: "I can only provide (statements) from (the time) when I was appointed station manager. The public is welcome to come and check the financial statements."

He confirmed, however, that the legal battles between the radio station and the former station manager, Mr Muneri, are continuing.

Mr Junior Ramovha appealed to people to continue trusting Makhado FM. "We are also appealing to the business community to work with the radio station. It can not function properly without funds. We need to reach out and establish friends of Makhado FM," said Ramovha.

The new (interim) board and staff seem to have some troubled waters in front of them and some hard work will have to be done if they want to reach calm waters. The latest RAMS figures, which measure radio audiences, put the station's total listenership at 23 000. This is almost half that of the figure two years ago and way behind other community radio stations in the province, such as Univen FM (148 000). The station has to fight for a part of the advertising cake with SABC stations such as PhalaPhala FM.

The station also has to deal with strict licencing requirements, which prescribe that they broadcast in other indigenous languages such as Xitsonga, Sepedi and Afrikaans. Currently, the station is biased towards Tshivenda and English.