edition-dw-akademie-in-the-service-of-the-public-functions-and-transformation-of-media-in-developing-countries-pdf

Part II Namibia: Multilingual Content and the Need for Organizational ChangeStatus of the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC)Characteristics Status Changes and progressover the past yearsChannels,distributionTV: Three nationwide channels: NBC1 (family channel/publicservice); NBC2 (news and current affairs/public service)and NBC3 (entertainment and sports/commercial focus); allchannels broadcast in English and are 24/7 on air, while mostcontent is bought from third parties, local content currentlyat 35 %In 2014, NBC expanded itsTV portfolio from 1 to 3channels, thanks to a moveto digital terrestrial broadcasting(DTT)Radio: NBC provides 10 radio channels in ten different languages;The English service, NBC National radio, broadcastson a 24 hour basis. The other radio services, namely AfrikaansService, Damara/Nama Service, German Service, OtjihereroService, Tirelo Ya Setswana, ah! Radio, Lozi Service, OshiwamboService and Rukavango Service shut down during thenight; Some broadcast from regional studios, and therebyhave limited coverage to specific regions.Legal frameworkNBC operates on the basis of the Namibia BroadcastingAct (Act 9 of 1991); Problems: The law is generally seen asoutdated, as it reflects the pre-internet age. Moreover, thegovernance structure lacks independence both on a financingand a decision-making level. The Namibian Constitutionpromotes in principle the rights of a free and independentpress.According to the NBCDirector General (CEO), aconsultation process on anew NBC law has alreadystarted; a move towardsincluding it on the politicalagenda is a prerogative ofthe Namibian InformationMinister (MICT)Public service remitThe NBC law does not refer explicitly to a public serviceremit, but it stipulates that NBC is a parastatal organization(same status as Air Namibia and other state-owned companies)that has the following objectives: to “inform andentertain the public of Namibia, to contribute to the educationand unity of the nation, to provide and disseminateinformation relevant to the socio-economic development ofNamibia and to promote the use and understanding of theEnglish language.”–Regulatory system/governing bodyThe highest governing body of NBC is the Board of Directors(Board), a group of senior executives that supervise andcontrol the corporation. All Board Members, including NBC’sDirector General as the chief executive officer, are appointeddirectly and exclusively by the Minister of Information andCommunication Technology (MICT) for a five year term.Problem: There is no civil society involvement and no transparency,and there is a strong alignment with the ruling partySWAPOProgress towards a reformof this state-controlledselection procedure is likelyto remain difficult as thereis a lack of problem awarenessin the political domainand, notably, divergingstrategic interests of theruling party (SWAPO)Edition DW Akademie In the Service of the Public 87