Moves to merge Swaziland’s
state-controlled broadcasters
Media
Institute of Southern Africa - Swaziland Chapter statement
Monday,
25 February 2013
Cabinet
has approved draft legislation that intends to convert Swaziland’s two state-broadcasters
into one national broadcaster, according to local media reports.
The
Swazi Observer, a state-owned daily,
says cabinet passed the Swaziland Broadcasting Corporation Bill 2012 and the
Swaziland Broadcasting Bill 2010 on Thursday, 21 February 2013.
The
Broadcasting Corporations Bill “is mainly for the establishment of…
amalgamating the operations and resources of the two existing broadcasters,”
says the Observer. The Corporation Bill, therefore, will provide the framework
and funding from which the national broadcaster will begin operating, if passed
by parliament.
Swaziland’s
airwaves and television sets are
heavily censored. The state-owned and controlled radio station, under the
authority of Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Service (SBIS), and Swazi
TV, under the Swaziland Television Authority (STVA), act as government
departments and citizens
need approval from their respective chiefs before speaking on radio.
In
the media reports government spokesperson Percy Simelane is quoted as saying
that the proposed broadcasting legislation seeks to “safeguard, enrich and
strengthen the cultural, political, social and economic fabric of Swaziland;
contribute to democracy, development of society, gender equality, nation
building, and provision of education”.
Many
commentators might question how a new national broadcasting corporation can
contribute to democracy when democracy does not yet exist: political parties
are banned, freedom of speech is strangled, and peaceful meetings are often
interrupted by police who tell those gathered to move on.
The
media report also says the legislation aims to “harmonise the broadcasting
industry” while “strengthening the spiritual and moral fibre” of the nation.
The
two Bills, if passed by parliament, are said to be ushering in a more open,
fair and diverse broadcasting sector. The legislation, if passed and properly
implemented, is “expected provide for maximum availability of broadcasting to
the people through the three tier system of public, commercial and community
broadcasting services”. On the face of
it, this three-tier plan is encouraging.
However,
it is not yet clear whether any meaningful attempt will be made to actually
convert the state-broadcasters into a genuine public-broadcaster. The concern
is that the two state-owned and controlled broadcasters simply merge into one
‘super state-broadcaster’, in which case freedom of speech and choice will
remain curtailed and limited.
The
Swazi chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Swaziland) has
been calling for the government to free up the airwaves for over a decade. Most
recently MISA supported the Times of
Swaziland’s push for more open broadcasting.
If
this current move by government leads to a more diverse and truly public
broadcaster (for TV and radio) then MISA-Swaziland will be encouraged. However,
if the state
continues to use the broadcaster as its exclusive domain, and continues to
invoke notions of “spiritual and moral fibre” as an excuse to suppress speech,
then MISA-Swaziland will continue calling for meaningful change.
No
date has been set for two pieces of legislation to go before parliament for a
vote.
See
also
BROADCASTING
IS NOT FOR THE PEOPLE
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