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 been passed which, in theory, provides a conducive environment for public, commercial and community broadcasting. Legislation for the IBA, which issues broadcasting licences and regulates broadcasting activity, has been in place since 2002 (IBA Act 17 of 2002). An amendment was made to the act in 2010, giving the minister the power to appoint the board. In June 2013, a director general was appointed to head the IBA. During its election campaign, the PF said that it would revert to the 2002 Act, but this has not been done. Furthermore, the IBA’s top management was appointed by the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information. “Their allegiance is to the government rather than to providing a service, and the decisions they make are ones that will not annoy the appointing authority.” It is hoped that the separation of powers in terms of broadcasting regulation will not cause a “power struggle” between the IBA and the ministry, which previously handled this function. Progress at the IBA is difficult to fully assess, as the director general was only recently appointed. The appointments at the IBA have also been handled incorrectly. “They should rather have had the board in place, and then have the board hire the DG. In this situation, the DG was appointed by ministry, and has been in power longer than the board.” In addition, the IBA’s management staff was appointed before the DG entered office. Initially, it seemed that there was a push for transparency in setting up the IBA, but “implementation is where things have gone wrong”. The removal of an ad hoc committee in the 2010 Amendment Act “takes us back to square one” and may be problematic because “some powers are giving out frequencies (i.e. ZICTA), while others are handing out the licences (i.e. IBA)”. With regards to the public broadcaster, again, in theory, the ZNBC Act guarantees independence, but not in practice. “The ZNBC operates more as a state media than public broadcaster.” The 2010 amendment to the act also provides for the appointment of the ZNBC board by the inister of Information. 48 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZAMBIA 2013