basis of the draft Broadcasting Policy in Botswana. It is also reflected in the Zambian Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) Act and the South African Broadcasting Act. • Independent funding mechanisms are essential for achieving the development objectives outlined in the SADC Protocol and the AC and ICT Declarations. Currently, few such mechanisms are legislated for in Namibia, and those that do exist lack the required protection from political and economic interference. Botswana’s draft Broadcasting Policy provides for the establishment of a fund to assist with the development of the country’s broadcasting industry, while the South African Media Development and Diversity Agency may be another example Namibia could look at in this regard. • Namibian legislation makes even less provision for the training of media and communication workers – an obligation spelt out in the SADC Protocol. Skills and human resource development is a focus of Botswana’s draft broadcasting policy, while South African broadcasters are required by law to conform to human resource development policies. • Namibia has mechanisms in place for the self-regulation of the print media, and these conform to the provisions of the SADC Protocol and AC Declaration. However, these mechanisms appear dormant, and may require government to facilitate their revival, a role envisaged in the SADC Protocol. Meanwhile, Zambia’s IBA Act and Botswana’s draft broadcasting policy provide for the kind of codes of ethics and independent public complaints mechanisms that are lacking in Namibia’s own laws governing the regulation of communications. • The current requirement by the Namibian authorities that foreign media workers – including those from other SADC States – must first apply for a work permit before coming on assignment to Namibia contravenes the enabling mechanisms provided for in the SADC Protocol and AC Declaration. However, Namibia’s administrative procedures for registering media houses and media workers appear to conform to these standards. In the current vacuum created by Namibia’s out-dated policy framework, laws that criminalise free expression, and contradict African and other international standards on access to information continue to be passed. This suggests that the drafting of a new policy framework, followed by an extensive review and reform of existing legislation, should be considered a matter of priority if Namibia is to conform to the African standards it is legally obliged to uphold. Namibia Media Law Audit – report final draft 4