3.2 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. The composition of the Nominating Committee might be seen as 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. Despite this appointments procedure, some panelists saw the actual performance of the NBB members as proof of their acting with an independent mind. SCORES: Individual scores: Average score: 3.3 2, 4, 2, 3, 1, 1, 4, 1, 3 2.3 (2005 = 2.0) The body regulates broadcasting in the public interest and ensures fairness and diversity of views broadly representing society at large. ANALYSIS: With the new broadcasting policy not in place, the interests of the state continue to take precedence over those of the public, and government still has a strong political and economic grip on the state media – particularly the broadcast media. Although regulations for licensing broadcasters were issued in October 2004, the NBB’s work is hampered by the absence of a broadcasting policy. The Board, however, is free to implement these regulations regardless and issue licences. So far, it has granted licences to Radio Botswana and two commercial operators (GBC and MultiChoice). Licences for national private radio stations are to be awarded in the very near future. One of the licence conditions for Radio Botswana is that it should have an independent board. However, the station was not given any time frame within which to transform into a public broadcaster, and the duration of the licence is ten years. SCORES: Individual scores: Average score: So This Is Democracy? 2007 1, 2, 1, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2 2.1 (2005 = 1.3) -162- Media Institute of Southern Africa