languages, especially, minority languages must not be isolated from the different tribes within which they subsist. Also while it is the preserve of a given state to protect its citizens, more often minorities tend to suffer at the hands of those who are supposed to protect them. We have seen this with the case of the Ndebele of Matebeleland, including their continued existence outside the margins of the state. We have seen this also with the Basarwa, of Botswana, the different San communities in South Africa, the people of Barotseland in Zambia, just to name a few. In that regard there is need for clearly laid down regional legal instruments, in Southern Africa, for example, that are designed to protect ethnic minorities – to which Member States will after ratifying agree to have them translated into their domestic constitutions, paying particular emphasis to their contexts. These have to further cascade into different policies, of each Member State, designed to empower ethnic minorities as part of broader democratic processes. This can be done through a dedicated three tier system aimed at decentralising systems of governance – into, delegation, decongestion, and devolution. In some instances a federal project might be the solution. It is also important to emphasize that recent studies continue to show that radio plays a key role in development processes in Africa. Radio continues to be the medium of choice, owing to low literacy levels. But on the other hand we know how radio as an important media has been essentialised and abused to fan and stock the ethnic fissures including ethnic violence. I therefore, wish to submit that radio like electricity which