SCORES: Individual scores: Average score: 2.4 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3 3.4 (2005 = 2.9) Broadcasting legislation has been passed and is implemented that provides for a conducive environment for public, commercial and community broadcasting. ANALYSIS: The Broadcasting Act 1998 provides for public, private and community broadcasting services. A Draft Broadcasting Policy, developed by the National Broadcasting Board (NBB) since 2002 in a broad public consultation process, was tabled in Parliament in 2006. The House decided to defer any decision on it because of issues that needed to be clarified further. In particular, there was a lot of debate and confusion about the public broadcasting service and what it entails. The recommendations on this sector were a watered-down version of the original NBB draft and some parliamentarians felt that the policy now allows government too much leeway by suggesting that the broadcasting services currently run by it should develop a concept of public broadcasting for themselves. Instead they insist that the policy needs to spell out clearly that these services be transformed from state into truly public broadcasting services. The government, however, is still not willing to give up control over Botswana Television and Radio Botswana. Another contentious issue in parliament was the community broadcasting sector (see under 2.5). In regard to commercial broadcasting, the NBB is about to grant national licences to three private radio stations. SCORES: Individual scores: Average score: 2.5 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 1, 2 1.7 (2005 = 1.8) Community broadcasting enjoys special promotion given its potential to broaden access by poor and rural communities. ANALYSIS: The introduction of community radio in Botswana still seems to be a distant prospect. While there was no resistance to community radios during the public consultation process for the development of the broadcasting policy mentioned under 2.4, the chapter on community broadcasting in the draft policy was hotly debated in Parliament, with widely divergent views expressed across party affiliations. Some MPs thought that this was the right way to go while others – on all sides of the political divide - felt that Botswana was not yet ready for what they saw as a potentially divisive service. What has emerged from the debate of the policy so far is that there are many misconceptions about community radio and television broadcasting and that the issue has been highly politicised. So This Is Democracy? 2007 -156- Media Institute of Southern Africa