SECTOR 1 The controversial additions to the Research Act are a case in point. There were consultations and concerns were raised but the problematic provisions were not reviewed. Furthermore, due to a lack of access to information it is not always clear when consultations are taking place, and what the topic of the consultation is. And it might be difficult to track how any comments were taken into account after public consultations. “There is an extremely selective process of who knows when what happens” one panellist explained On the other hand, it is not clear who actually shows up for the formal consultations. A panellist expressed that “We need to bring up a sense of responsibility in terms of civic participation”. It was asserted that on the government’s end, there seems to be an “absolute disregard of consultation with the [general] public”, while civil society needs to question which organisations are able to represent the media’s interests adequately. There is also a lack of civil society organisations that have the capacity to engage interest groups and citizens at large to partake in consultations in a meaningful way. 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: 1.5 (2005: n/a; 2007: n/a; 2009: 1.9; 2011: 1.0) Average score for sector 1: 2.8 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NAMIBIA 2015 25