SCORES: Individual scores: Average score: 3.2 4, 2, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3 3.3 (2006 = 4.3) The appointments procedure for members of the regulatory body is open and transparent and involves civil society. ANALYSIS: The ICASA Amendment Act 2006 changed the appointments procedure for the chairperson and councillors: The parliamentary portfolio committee on communications calls for public nominations for members of the council – as previously. After public interviews of short-listed candidates, the committee submits a list of names numbering at least one and a half times the number of vacancies to the Minister. Previously Parliament recommended the actual proposed appointees to the President. The Minister then selects his/her proposed candidates from the list and submits their names to Parliament for final approval. Parliament can request the Minister to review his/her decision if it is not satisfied with the proposals. Previously, the President only had the power to either appoint or refer the list back to Parliament for review. If Parliament approves of the proposed candidates, the Minister will appoint them and select the chairperson of the council. Previously the President appointed both the councillors and the chair. The Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee stated in its report that it regarded the new procedure as being “inappropriate”. It recommended that the original appointment process be reinstated, saying that it was “dissatisfied” with the Minister’s involvement in appointments as “this may create a perception that the Authority is not an independent institution”. Apart from these shortcomings, the process is still transparent and involves civil society. SCORES: Individual scores: Average score: 3.3 4, 5, 5, 3, 4, 4, 3, 5, 3 4.0 (2008 = 4.2) The body regulates broadcasting in the public interest and ensures fairness and a diversity of views broadly representing society at large. ANALYSIS: The law stipulates that ICASA regulate broadcasting in the public interest and ensure fairness and a diversity of views. Should ICASA not meet this legal requirement, the authority can be challenged in court. Currently one of the unsuccessful bidders for a new subscription TV licence is taking ICASA to court on this issue. SCORE: Individual scores: Average score: So This Is Democracy? 2008 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 3 4.1 (2006 = 4.0) -210- Media Institute of Southern Africa