Swaziland
3.6

Persons who have vested interests of a political or
commercial nature are excluded from possible membership
in the board, i.e. office bearers with state and political
parties as well as those with a financial interest in
the broadcasting industry.

ANALYSIS:
There are no restrictions on who is eligible to serve on the STVA
board. The minister can make appointments at his own discretion
and his decisions are not scrutinised. Further, according to the Public Enterprises (Control and Monitoring) Act 1989, every parastatal
must have at least one government representative on its board.
SCORES:
Individual scores:

1, 1, 1, 3, 1, 1, 1, 1

Average score:

1.3

3.7

(2005=2.2)

The editorial independence of the public broadcaster from
commercial pressure and political influence is guaranteed
by law and practiced.

ANALYSIS:
The editorial independence of Swazi TV and SBIS is not guaranteed
in law, though in practice there is some effort to resist political
influence.
Journalists at both broadcasters are demonstrating more freedom
in editorial decision-making and taking more risks by including progressive voices and running stories critical of government. For example, during the recent strike, trade unionists were given considerable airtime on both SBIS and Swazi TV to air their grievances.
28

African Media Barometer - Swaziland 2007

Select target paragraph3