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Date:          Mon, 9 Mar 1998 15:27:36 -0500

IFEX- News from the international freedom of expression community
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ACTION ALERT - BOTSWANA

9 March 1998

NGO denied media license

SOURCE: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Windhoek

(MISA/IFEX) - World View Botswana, a locally based non-governmental
organization, has been denied broadcasting licenses by the Botswana
Telecommunications Authority (BTA). The Botswana government says there is no
immediate need to grant licenses to community radio stations because the
objectives of community  broadcasting are currently being met by the
state-controlled Radio Botswana. This position was outlined after World View
Botswana applied to the BTA for broadcasting licenses. The licenses had been
sought by the NGO to run community based radio stations in the local
community of Basarwa in the hopes of empowering its residents.

In its reply the BTA stated that it would not entertain the application at
its upcoming meeting later this month because "to some extent the needs of
non-commercial applications for radio broadcasting (i.e. community based
radio broadcasting) are currently being met by similar programs provided by
Radio Botswana." According to the Friday 27 February edition of the
"Botswana Gazette", the telecommunications authority intends instead to
consider the applications of commercial FM radio stations which have been
pending for a longer time.

World View Botswana is understood to have raised donor support for its
community radio project but its cooperating partner, Norwegian Church Aid,
will now have to wait before providing equipment to this project.

BACKGROUND
On 14 November 1998, the government of Botswana announced plans to establish
a National Broadcasting Board, members of which would have be appointed
either by the president or a minister. The duty of the board would be to
regulate broadcasting in Botswana. Members of this board were to be
appointed from a list of names submitted from the government ministries of
Commerce and Industry and Labour and Home Affairs, as well as from the
office of the president and Botswana Telecommunications. The remaining board
members were to be selected from the media, private sector, the religious
community and non-governmental organizations.

Media workers and the civil society in Botswana, however, opposed this
proposal,  calling instead for a broadcasting regulatory body to be
appointed by parliament. They also submitted that any independent
broadcasting board should have direct control of the available frequency
spectrum for which is has the power to grant licenses.

The government has since engaged in a series of consultations with stake
holders on the establishment of an independent regulatory body. This body
is, however, not yet in place,  nor has it yet been approved by the courts.


RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send appeals to authorities:
-opposing the issuance of broadcasting licenses in advance of the proposed
new legislation to establish an independent regulatory board
-insisting that the current arrangement under the BTA is not transparent and
can therefore not guarantee the impartial and objective consideration of
broadcasting licenses
-demanding that license application hearings should be made public so that
the merit of applications and the reasons informing the authority's
decisions can be publicly debated
-pointing out that the government's excuse that Radio Botswana is carrying
out community based functions is unacceptable because the station is
controlled by the state and is thus biased in its coverage
-noting that, since there are no known plans to make Radio Botswana
independent, is it implausible that it could offer a platform for free speech
-calling on them to encourage and support the emergence of community based
broadcasting as a vehicle for public interaction and debate of developmental
issues and other matters affecting them (unlike the FM stations, which have
been relegated to entertainment channels which only allow for musical
broadcasts)


APPEALS TO:

His Excellency President Sir Ketumile Masire Office of the President
Private Bag 001
Gaborone
Botswana
Tel: +267 350850
Fax: +267 350858

The honourable Minister of Presidential Affairs & Public Administration
Mr. Ponatshego Kedikilwe,
Private Bag 001,
Gaborone,
Botswana.

Tel: +267 350846
Fax: +267 350888/350858

Please copy appeals to the source if possible.

For further information, contact Bright Mwape at MISA, Street Address; 9
Mozart Street, Mailing Address;  Private Bag 13386 Windhoek, Namibia, tel:
+264 61 232975, fax: +264 61 248016, e-mail: bright@ingrid.misa.org.na,
research@ingrid.misa.org.na, Internet: http://www.misanet.org/.

The information contained in this action alert is the sole responsibility of
MISA. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit MISA.
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bg@comunica.org          http://comunica.org/pulsar
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