3.3 The body regulates broadcasting services and licenses in the public interest and ensures fairness and a diversity of views broadly representing society at large. Analysis: The two regulatory bodies – the Broadcasting Council and the Uganda Communications Commission – operate under a legal system that ties them to the government. The Broadcasting Council often shuts down critical radio and/ or TV stations arbitrarily, purportedly acting in the “public interest”. The closure of the four FM stations already mentioned, the latest such act, was justified along the same lines. While addressing a roundtable discussion on public broadcasting in Kampala in December 2009, the minister responsible for information said the government’s closure of the stations was “appropriate and justified for the good of all”. If radio stations fail to pay their annual licence fees, the regulatory bodies do not move against those owned by government politicians, but come down firmly on those that do not have political protection. People who bought frequencies years ago are now selling them at astronomical rates. Such sales can only be valid with the approval of the Council. In other countries, if you do not use your frequency, you return it to the regulator because the frequency spectrum is public property. 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: 1.4 (2007: 1.7) AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER UGANDA 2010 47