Lesotho rium, which was purported to have been issued to allow for a review of broadcasting law, had been viewed by MISA Lesotho as a ploy by the government to hinder the project. It was expected that the suspension of the moratorium would enable an additional three communities of Quthing, Semonkong and Mokhotlong radio stations to go on air. Another progressive development was the announcement by the government of the adoption of an interim Broadcasting Code of 2017, pending cabinet sanction of the code to repeal the Broadcasting Rules of 2004. The announcement was made in August 2017 and MISA Lesotho saw this as a bid to ensure legislation was in step with global standards. The new policy is also expected to protect consumers while at the same time guarding the interests of the broadcasting sector in Lesotho. ACCESS TO INFORMATION MISA Lesotho’s advocacy campaign on the passing of the Access and Receipt of Information Bill of 2000, saw some hope in the National Legal Reforms project, as SADC had categorically called for media and information reforms. The reforms project began with drawing up a bill to establish the National Reforms Commission. While the reforms are an opportunity to accelerate positive results after MISA Lesotho’s long advocacy campaign, the big challenge would be the degree of cooperation and unity among media houses and individual journalists in Lesotho. Characterised by political polarisation, the media in Lesotho could lose out on opportunities presented by the reforms project if they are unable to find common ground. The Editors Forum established in 2014 was dysfunctional and similarly the Journalists Union of Lesotho. Both organisations lack clearly defined programmes and were not operating in accordance with the guiding principles acknowledged by CSOs allowing for positive changes in the sector they were established to protect and advance as development agents. On a positive note, the government of Lesotho announced in December 2017 that it had rescinded its moratorium on issuance of broadcast licenses that was put in place two years earlier. Challenges of poor governance in MISA Lesotho were also evident since March 2017 when it elected a board that lacked leadership and corporate governance skills. The organisation’s National Governing Council (NGC) was rocked by scandals ranging from: • The Deputy Chairperson and Deputy Secretary General of the NGC leading a group of 12 out of 42 participants to boycott a workshop held by MISA due to their discontent So This is Democracy? 2017 45