SECTOR 2 2.6 Government promotes a diverse media landscape with economically sustainable and independent media outlets The panellists concluded that in the Mozambican context, one cannot argue justifiably that the government promotes a diverse media landscape through the creation of conditions for the existence of economically sustainable and independent media outlets, as outlined in the following: • The media sector is not attractive to foreign capital, as the Press Law does not allow a foreign investor to acquire more than 20% of the capital of a media corporation. • There is no Mozambican public announcement law to date; public announcements are distributed in a non-transparent way and even based on clearly political criteria. • There are no incentives in the country to distribute newspapers to the extent that transporting newspapers by the official/public air freighter costs the same as for any other product. • Companies from the media sector pay Value Added Tax (VAT) on their invoicing values and not on their effectively received values, in a context where the state does not pay its bills. • The government gives (mainly to community radios) precarious licences with a maximum duration of three months, which places them in a situation of unacceptable legal uncertainty and makes it impossible to consolidate any partnerships. • The tax authorities deal with the media in a problematic way. Currently, to purchase a television camera is the same as buying a hammer for a shop. Hence, the government does not promote a diverse landscape or the sustainability of the media in Mozambique. 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: Score of previous years: 27 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MOZAMBIQUE 2018 ✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓✓✓✓✓✓✓ 1.7 2005=n/a; 2007=n/a; 2009=2.7; 2011=1.5; 2014=3.3