SECTOR 3 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: 1.3 (2005: 1.5; 2007: 1.0; 2009: 1.2; 2011: 1.0) 3.4 The state/public broadcaster is accountable to the public through an independent board which is representative of society at large and selected in an independent, open and transparent manner. SBIS does not have a board, and is regarded as a department of the information ministry, controlled solely by the Minister of Information. As a result, the state radio broadcaster cannot be said to be accountable to the public in any way, but is rather accountable only to the government, which is ultimately controlled by the king. SBIS reporters are not regarded as professional journalists with the public’s interests at heart, but are seen as civil servants, answerable to the ICT Minister. All the decisions at SBIS are made by the Minister and the Permanent Secretary of ICT. In terms of state television broadcasting, the Swaziland Television Authority has a board, which is appointed by the ICT minister in the same manner as the Swaziland Communications Commission board (described in indicator 3.2). As with the SCC board, the Minister can remove any board members, as has happened in the past, without providing any reasons. Thus, the STA board is dominated by state interests and has never been independent or representative of society at large. The appointment of the STA board is neither open nor transparent; and the regulation of broadcasting is not free of political interference. “Members of the STA board are accountable only to the state through the ICT minister, not to the public, so Swazi TV cannot be seen as a true public broadcaster. The board was only appointed because the King III report on good governance recommends this.” 50 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER Swaziland 2014