Uganda
3.4

The body’s decisions on licensing in particular are informed
by a broadcasting policy developed in a transparent and
inclusive manner.

ANALYSIS:
Currently there is no publicly known broadcasting policy that would
influence the decisions of the Broadcasting Council and the Uganda
Communications Commission. There were efforts by the Broadcasting Council to develop a Broadcasting Policy in 2004 when a draft
was presented to stakeholders in two public hearings. The draft was
sent to the minister of information and passed by Cabinet but has
never been made public.
Licensing of radio and TV stations is selective. Even when the regulatory bodies have claimed that there are no additional frequencies
available, new stations are still coming up run by people with the
right political connections.
SCORES:
Individual scores:

2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Average:

1.1

3.5

The public broadcaster is accountable to the public through
a board representative of society at large and selected in
an independent, open and transparent manner.

ANALYSIS:
The Uganda Broadcasting Corporation Act 2005 establishes the
Uganda Broadcasting Corporation as a “public broadcaster”. The
Board of Directors is appointed by the minister in charge of information and broadcasting, and the selection is at his/her discretion
African Media Barometer - Uganda 2007

23

Select target paragraph3