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Alert

MISA calls for expeditious licensing of three new national commercial radio stations, community stations

(MISA/IFEX) - The following is a MISA press release:

MISA Botswana calls for licensing of new commercial radios

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Botswana is urging the National Broadcasting Board (NBB) to expedite its plans to issue licenses to three new national commercial radio stations by the target date of May 2006.

We are concerned that the stated date will not be met as the tendering process has not even started, as stated at the 6 December 2005 press briefing by NBB Chairperson Dr. Masego Mpotokwane, who indicated that three national licenses would be issued by May 2006.

This was viewed as good news by many players in this sector. As an organisation which advocates for pluralism and diversity, MISA Botswana welcomed the move to expand representation of private media on a national level.

We call on the NBB to continue to encourage an open and democratic society in which the media provides an opportunity for freedom of expression on matters of governance. Radio plays an important role in this process, as it gives citizens a chance to speak for themselves on matters that affect them daily.

We further call upon the NBB to hasten the licensing of community radio stations, as Botswana is lagging behind in the SADC region as regards the existence of such stations. This is another way of expanding our democracy and enlarging citizen participation. Broadcasting is by far the most important source of information for most people around the world.