Regional outlook Prospects for public broadcasting in southern Africa remained dim as governments maintained a tight grip on national broadcasters. Perhaps the single greatest blow to public broadcasting in the region was the decline of public broadcasting at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The broadcaster’s editorial independence, institutional autonomy and governance have repeatedly been called into question as reports persist of the blacklisting of certain individuals from the broadcaster, the censoring of programmes and the stacking of the SABC board with government sympathisers. The second quarter of 2008 saw the SABC virtually in a crisis as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the head of news were suspended. Elsewhere in the region, the policy, legal and regulatory frameworks that determine the outlook on the three-tier system of broadcasting either do not exist or are inadequate. There is a vacuum in terms of enunciation of structures and functions of public, community and commercial broadcasters, independent regulatory authorities and public broadcasters, and licensing and management of the frequency spectrum. As a result, we continued to see actions that do not bode well for freedom of expression, diversity and pluralism in broadcasting. These included harassment of personnel at state and private broadcasters, and the hiking of license fees almost to the point of driving broadcasters out of the market. Of particular note in this regard were Lesotho and Zimbabwe. Harassment of private broadcasters in Lesotho was one of a series of actions that saw the country emerging as a repressive broadcasting environment. In addition, private radio stations received a seven-fold license fee increase, some private broadcasters were shut down or constantly threatened with closure, and plans are underway to give the minister more powers to issue and revoke broadcasting licenses. Zimbabwe retained the number one slot as the most repressive environment in the region in terms of broadcasting pluralism and diversity. No private broadcasters have been licensed in the country, leaving the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) as the sole broadcaster. When the CEO of ZBC appeared before the country’s Parliamentary Committee on Transport and Communications in September 2007, he said that political interference and censorship of news is the order of the day at the state broadcaster. The government further signed into law in August 2007 the Interception of Communications Act, which allows the government to spy on e-mail messages and telephone calls. There were, however, some positive developments elsewhere. Amid the harassment and lack of progress in public broadcasting and independent regulation, there was progress in opening up the airwaves. Botswana, Zambia and Namibia saw new entrants in the commercial and community broadcasting sectors. Challenges A very hostile environment in Lesotho The Lesotho Telecommunications Authority Act (LTAA) hiked license fees in early 2008 to a shocking US$3,000 up from US$400 a year. Investigations by MISA Lesotho showed that most radio stations are already struggling to pay their employees. The move has further crippled private broadcasters that have, over the last three years, experienced economic suffocation by the government, which advertises almost exclusively on state-owned media. The government is also planning to amend the law to give the minister extra powers to issue and revoke licenses, a move widely seen as a ploy to close down private radio stations that provide an alternative view and dare to criticise the 24 Annual Report 2008