ANALYSIS: According to the Broadcasting Act, 1998 the National Broadcasting Board (NBB) is appointed by the minister in charge of broadcasting. The board comprises an officer from the Office of the President, an officer from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, an officer from the Department of Cultural and Social Welfare, a representative of the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA), and seven persons appointed from a list of 10 candidates nominated by a Nominating Committee. This Committee consists of a member of the Law Society, the ViceChancellor of the University and a representative of the Office of the President. The Board is funded by the ministry and the BTA serves as the Secretariat to the Board. Especially the role of the BTA as Secretariat was questioned, given that it creates the possibility of the BTA dominating the Board in its decision-making. The Board would need to have its own independent staff to do its work without direct interference from the BTA. In some respects the BTA may presently be acting outside the law. After all, it was set up mainly to control and manage the spectrum, not to give technical advice to the NBB. It was also noted that there are plans to merge BTA and NBB to set up a combined body to deal with all aspects of broadcasting and ICT. The present minister is not as keen on such a merger as was her predecessor, so it might not take place as quickly as previously thought. Overall, there does not appear to be any or enough government commitment to the work of the NBB. For its part, the NBB does not appear to be pro-active in implementing broadcasting policy. SCORES: Individual scores: Average score: 3.2 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2 1.5 The appointments procedure for members of the regulatory body is open and transparent and involves civil society. ANALYSIS: As outlined under 3.1 appointments are made by the minister. When the present board was appointed all names submitted by civil society were ignored. The Nominating Committee is biased towards government, with two of its three members being a representative of the president’s office and the Vice Chancellor of the university who is himself a government appointee. An example for an alternative way of doing things is the Press Council of Botswana, where a Selection Committee invited people to apply and these were interviewed with the public and media present. Interviews for NBB candidates took place behind closed doors. The names of potential members were not published and so the whole process was not open and transparent. SCORES: Individual scores: Average score: So This Is Democracy? 2005 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 2.0 -199- Media Institute of Southern Africa