SECTOR 3 The manner in which licences are issued is also open to question and often arbitrary. The reasons for denying a licence are not always logical and not always disclosed to applicants. By law, the refusal to grant an authorisation to broadcast must be justified. Article 25 of Ordinance 92-039 states that the response must be sent within 60 days upon receipt of the application by the HCA or its representative body. “Authorization is deemed to have been granted in the event of failure to provide a response within the stipulated time-limit”, the article says. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator. 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 1.5 (2006 = 1.1; 2008 = 1.7) 3.4 The state/public broadcaster is accountable to the public through a board representative of society at large and selected in an independent, open and transparent manner. The Malagasy Radio and Television Office is in charge of public broadcasting. TVM and RNM currently have a board of directors, but this is an internal body whose members are selected from among the staff of the two public broadcasters. Because it is an internal body and its members were not selected through an open and participatory process, it cannot be considered as inclusive or representative of society. Nevertheless, panel members believe that the existence of such a board is a major achievement, since the Ministry of Communications is no longer the sole decision maker. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MADAGASCAR 2010 103