Online petition to save Lotus FM

THE Save Lotus FM committee has taken its fight to return the station to its original form online, starting an online petition with four demands.

The committee’s convener and South African Hindu Maha Sabha president, Ashwin Trikamjee, said the petition was started following a public meeting held in Durban on November 7. The South African Hindu Maha Sabha decided on the online petition as a more practical solution to concerns raised at the meeting, Trikamjee said. The petition demands to have the station’s name retained and the immediate scrapping of its 90% local music quota.

In May, former SABC chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng announced that all the 18 SABC radio stations (including Lotus FM) would have to play 90% local music. This has seen the station being adversely affected.

“The current status is worrying as the listenership has dropped alarmingly and continues to drop. Worst is the drop in advertising revenue,” said Trikamjee.

Trikamjee added that he had heard there were threats to have the station closed down. “There is speculation that it comes from senior management from the SABC on the grounds that the current low listenership and the concomitant drop in advertising revenue does not warrant the station to continue.”

Attempts to reach SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago were unsuccessful yesterday.

The petition seeks to let the station be allowed to continue reflecting the “music, culture and lifestyle of the progressive South African Indian community”.