Uganda Broadcasting Council, the statutory body regulating the broadcasting industry, placed a media advert yesterday in The New Vision newspaper, giving proprietors of the affected stations up to February 9 to show cause as to why their respective permission to broadcast should not be withdrawn by the Council.
The Council will, after the lapse of the 14 days, take action including, but not limited to, the revocation of the broadcast licences, said the notice signed by Mr Kagole Kivumbi, the Council secretary.
Interested operators
After revocation, opportunity for the permission to broadcast will be made available to (other) interested operators within the respective geographical locations, whose applications have been pending.
If the 32 stations are shut, it would mean that 16 per cent of the country's 200 broadcast stations would have been officially taken off air, limiting thousands of citizens, access to news and entertainment delivered by the media outlets.
Among the named radio stations is Rukungiri FM owned by Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi, the former Health minister, who has since turned into a government critic, and Kampala International University FM radio, an institution owned by the ruling NRM party Entrepreneurship League chairman, Mr Hassan Bassajabalaba, who, has been having fights with some government officials.
Oldest stations
Gen Muhwezi told Daily Monitor that he does not know why his Rukungiri-based radio in western Uganda has been listed for a closure, clarifying that he is not involved in its daily management.
If it is non-payment of the licence fee, which I doubt, it will be rectified because Rukungiri radio (founded in 1997) is one of the oldest stations contributing to the welfare of the people in that region, he said.
On his part, Mr Bassajabalaba said: We owe zero money to Uganda Broadcasting Council (or any regulator) and I do not know what they have written in the (New Vision) newspaper is about.
Even when Mr Kivumbi denied that the government's interest was cash, Mr Mathias Tembo, the manager of the South Rwenzori Anglican diocese-owned Radio Messiah in Kasese District, said they cleared their outstanding Sh1.5 million licence renewal fees mid this month, and did not expect to be in trouble with the regulator.
We have never received any warning about breaching broadcasting standards. Our problem has been the money (licence fees) that we paid on January 15, he said.
Possible closure
The Council warning has sparked panic across the nation, especially that apart from the media outlets listed in western Uganda.
Others facing possible closure include the city-based NBS TV station, Nile FM and its sister BTN TV station in West Nile region, Eye FM in the eastern Iganga District and radio and TV WA in the northern Lira District.
With the tremor of the bad news echoing across the country, fear yesterday surged of a possible massive unemployment in the media industry – should the Council execute its threat.
With each of the listed media organisation employing at least 30 staff, summary closures could leave an estimated 1,000, mainly upcountry journalists, presenters and station managers, jobless.
Mr Kivumbi told Daily Monitor in a separate interview that their advert showed a status of dissatisfaction with the performance of the named media organisations, including Radio France International.
The issue is not the money (licence fees) but the standards that have to be met, he said, The airwaves belong to Ugandans; getting a broadcasting licence is therefore not a right but a privilege and that is why proprietors should focus on programming and broadcast content to ensure that they are contributing to the welfare of the communities they serve.
Prospective investors
He said some TV and radio owners had failed to provide written job contracts to their employees; contrary to the labour laws, a number were broadcasting anything they want while some momentarily went off air without explanation, yet there are many prospective investors from such regions clamouring for licences.
If you cannot manage a radio/TV station, then you give the chance to other people, he said.
The Broadcasting Council indicated in Wednesday's advert that they had set benchmarks for broadcaster at the end of last July, but many proprietors had chosen to ignore them.
He said the listed media houses had breached Sections 2(1) and 6 of the Electronic Media Act that provide for compulsory acquisition of broadcasting licence upon payment of prescribed fees through a formal registration. – Daily Nation