SECTOR 3 3.2 Broadcasting is regulated by an independent body that is adequately protected by law against interference and whose board is not dominated by any particular political party and is appointed – in an open way - involving civil society and not dominated by any particular political party. Both the ZNBC and the IBA are meant to operate independently. Legislation for the ZNBC has been in place since 1987 (Act 16 of 1987), with amendments in 1994 (Amendment Act 13 of 1994) and 2002 (Amendment Act 20 of 2002)18. Legislation for the IBA has been in place since 2002 (Act 17 of 2002). Additional amendments were made to both the ZNBC and IBA Acts in 2010, and in both cases, changes were made that give power to the minister to appoint board members, instead of to an ad-hoc committee. The 2002 act allowed for appointments by an ad-hoc committee, which also created a greater level of representativeness in the process. Currently, two of the nine positions on the ZNBC board are vacant. The IBA currently does not have a board. In the case of the IBA, there has been an “attempt to do the right thing”, whereby the MLC was asked to propose names for consideration by the minister. “They made some considerations, but it has not been an inclusive process. Two years down the line, maybe they are still considering.” The reluctance to make the institution more independent is due to the “ZNBC being used as a security installation to some extent”. Another element at play is political interference: “they’ll never appoint a CEO who does not toe the line.” 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: 1.9 (2011:1.2; 2009:1.1; 2007:n/a; 2005:n/a) 18 Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) Act, http://zamlaws.zambia.co.zm/laws_view.php?chapter=154 50 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZAMBIA 2013