Uganda
and TV viewing licence fees. The TV licence then was resisted by
the public and thus cancelled by the President during the last election year.
Despite these provisions, there has been no public funding given to
the broadcaster and its operations are being crippled because of
the lack of necessary capital: “UBC is broke”. Equipment is obsolete and the main TV control room is housed in an OB van donated
in the early 70s. There is no standardised remuneration system for
staff. UBC’s operations were further affected when the government
sold the premises it was occupying in a top location to an investor
to build a hotel.
SCORES
Individual scores:

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

Average:

1.1

3.9

The public broadcaster is technically accessible in the
entire country.

ANALYSIS:
UBC television reaches an estimated 70 % of the country but transmission is not reliable. Even in urban centres it is sometimes difficult to receive its signals or to get a clear picture. In some areas
UBC TV can only be viewed through the subscription Pay-TV service
DSTV.
Radio covers 80 % of the country, mainly in the Central and Eastern
parts.

26

African Media Barometer - Uganda 2007

Select target paragraph3