SECTOR 3 officials from different ministries, three representatives of broadcasting media, two members of the public, and a lawyer, all appointed by the minister responsible for information. Section 10(5) of the law says: “The Minister may give directions of a policy nature to the Council regarding the performance of its functions and the Council shall comply with the directions”. As things stand, the Council is not accountable to the public. In practice, although not provided for by law, the chairperson of the Council is not accountable to the Council either. The current chairman insists he is not acting on the instructions of the government. However, President Museveni himself has said he ordered the closure of CBS radio station and that he would order its re-opening when it agreed to meet stringent conditions set by his Cabinet. The President had repeatedly warned FM stations, especially CBS, against undermining government programmes and telling lies about his policies. The UCC is supposed “to monitor, inspect, license and regulate communication services” generally, while the Broadcasting Council is tasked to plan and manage the “frequency spectrum dedicated to broadcasting”. The members of the Commission are appointed by the minister responsible for communications with the approval of the Cabinet. Although the law says the Commission “shall exercise its functions independent of any person or body”, it is the minister who grants licences for broadcasters “upon the recommendation of the Commission” (Section 34 [1] of the Act). 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: 46 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER UGANDA 2010 1.0 (2007: n/a)