Global Media: NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Zambia has finally brought to Parliament the 2002 Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) Act for enactment. Under normal circumstances, this would be an occasion to celebrate, as MISA Zambia and its partners have long advocated for implementation of the IBA and Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation amendment acts.

However the tabling of the bill in Parliament has turned into a disappointment due to the Zambian government’s decision to water down provisions that would guarantee independence of the broadcasting regulator.   Chief among these negative provisions is the removal of powers to appoint members of the board from an Appointments Committee and placing them solely on the hands of the minister of information. We agree with the Zambian Parliamentary Committee on Information and Broadcasting that this provision is not in the interest of transparency for which the IBA was set up. The IBA’s independence must not be alluded to in name only, but should also be in practice.

In a related development, the South African government is also proposing amendments that will give the communications minister enormous powers that threaten the independence of ICASA, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. Among other things, it requires the chairperson of the ICASA council to perform such other functions the minister may determine, and also empowers the minister to assign tasks, such as licensing, monitoring and compliance, to individual councillors. It is a sad development that South Africa which has hitherto been seen as the model to copy in the region, is regressing instead of strengthening the independence of ICASA.
Independence of the regulator does not imply independence from government policy, but rather independence to implement policy without undue interference from politicians. The International Telecommunications Union defines an independent regulator as one that is independent in terms of finance, structure and decision-making from operators and the relevant government ministry.

It is clear that giving the minister powers to appoint members of the board will render the IBA susceptible to political interference. It is a well known fact that ministers are skewed towards their governments or ruling parties. Placing enormous power on the minister also goes against the principle of separation of powers as provided for in the SADC ICT Declaration of which Zambia and South Africa are signatories. The declaration calls on governments in member states to limit themselves to making conducive policies and leave the task of regulating to independent professional bodies.
The extent to which a regulator is perceived to be independent of political control is a key factor in the confidence that industry and the public have in its decision making and its capacity to attract foreign investment. Statutory provisions governing the appointment and removal of officials, reporting requirements and financial autonomy must provide guarantees of independence.

In conclusion, we support MISA Zambia’s call to reject the IBA amendment bill on grounds that   it has rendered obsolete the in-built system of checks and balances that the original IBA amendment provided for, which is independent regulation and good governance. Similarly we call upon the South African public and Parliament to join industry and reject the proposed amendments which will render the communications minister player and referee at ICASA.


 Gladys Ramadi
Specialist: Broadcasting & ICTs
Media Institute of Southern Africa
broadcasting@misa.org
www.misa.org <http://www.misa.org>

- August 09, 2010 by Gladys Ramadi

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Source: www.misa.org  (received via email alert on 09.08.2010)