Swaziland Sector 3: 3.1 Broadcasting regulation is transparent and independent, the state broadcaster is transformed into a truly public broadcaster Broadcasting is regulated by an independent body adequately protected against interference, particularly of a political and economic nature. ANALYSIS: There is no independent broadcasting regulator in Swaziland. Regulatory power is split between two government-owned bodies, the Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC) and the Swaziland Television Authority (STVA). This regulatory system reinforces the government’s monopoly over broadcasting and leaves the sector extremely vulnerable to political interference. There is an inherent conflict of interest in the regulatory set-up since government is both an operator (through SBIS and Swazi TV) and a regulator (through the SPTC and STVA). The board of the parastatal, the SPTC, is appointed by the Minister for Tourism, Environment and Communications and has sole power to issue and revoke radio licenses. The SPTC Act 1983 does not contain any procedures for parties to appeal against licensing decisions. The only non-state radio broadcaster in Swaziland, Voice of the Church, was issued a license through a “gentleman’s agreement” in 2003 because the government was seeking to block the transmission of the South African stations, Radio Zulu and Radio siSwati. The STVA board is also appointed by the Minister for Public Service and Information and has broad-ranging powers to issue and withdraw licenses and even censor programme content. The only nonstate television broadcaster, Channel Swazi, was also issued a license under a ���gentleman’s agreement”. Channel Swazi is run by a relative to the King and was originally set up to promote the king 24 African Media Barometer - Swaziland 2007