Botswana SCORING: Individual scores: 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2 Average score: 1.7 3.2 (2005 = 1.5) The appointments procedure for members of the regulatory body is open and transparent and involves civil society. ANALYSIS: As outlined under 3.1 appointments are made by the minister. The composition of the Nominating Committee might be seen as biased towards government, with two of its three members being a representative of the president’s office and the Vice Chancellor of the university who is himself a government appointee. An example for an alternative way of doing things is the Press Council of Botswana, where a Selection Committee invited people to apply and these were interviewed with the public and media present. Interviews for NBB candidates took place behind closed doors. The names of potential members were not published and so the whole process was not open and transparent. Despite this appointments procedure, some panelists saw the actual performance of the NBB members as proof of their acting with an independent mind. SCORING: Individual scores: 2, 4, 2, 3, 1, 1, 4, 1, 3 Average score: 2.3 African Media Barometer - Botswana 2007 (2005 = 2.0) 29