SECTOR 3 Broadcasting regulation is transparent and independent; the State broadcaster is transformed into a truly public broadcaster. 3.1 Broadcasting legislation has been passed and is implemented that provides for a conducive environment for public, commercial and community broadcasting. Broadcasting legislation has still not been passed, and is “so conspicuous in its absence”. The law within which the broadcasting sector currently operates – the National Liberation Decree 226 of 1968 – does not take private broadcasters into account, allowing the private media to do as it pleases in this “free-fall system”. The decree is “limited to what the state broadcaster will do, and did not anticipate the liberalisation of the broadcasting landscape”. Internationally, a three-tier media structure is recognised (i.e. public, commercial and community broadcasters). In Ghana, however, these distinctions are not very clear, and various hybrids exist. The state-owned broadcaster is “not yet a true public broadcaster, as the funding mechanism is not independent of the state.” The absence of a broadcasting law “makes this distinction very blurred”. There is a critical need for greater regulation in the industry. With the Broadcasting Bill still not a reality, there is also no legal framework for the regulation of broadcasting. The only legislated bodies that exist with some measure in regulating the Broadcasting environment include the National Communications Authority Act of 2008 and the National Media Commission Act of 1993. (see indicator 3.2 below) It is expected that the current version of the proposed bill will be reviewed again before a final outcome. 44 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER GHANA 2013