By Spy Uganda
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has revealed that they want all government departments and or agencies to dedicate 5% of their budget allocations to paying for airtime on radio and TV stations.
The move comes after several members of NAB, led by their Chairperson Kin Kariisa, of Next Media Group, complained that several government officials are abusing the offer of free airtime for sensitization of the masses about government programmes.
The complaint is compounded on a letter dated June 18th, 2020 by Kin Kariisa, which demands government officials to at least part with between 2-5% of their budgets such that it can be used to buy space/airtime at several media houses in Uganda.
Kariisa’s letter to the Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and National Guidance, Judith Nabakooba, reads in part thus;
RE: CLARIFICATION ABOUT FREE GOVERNMENT AIRTIME
We at NAB wish to thank you for your leadership during the COVID-19 crisis. We appreciate the productive working relationship with us at NAB. We wish to draw your attention to a persistent gross misunderstanding related to what it termed as ‘Free Government Airtime.’
Background:
In 2014, the then Minister for Information and National Guidance, Hon. Rose Namayanja, had a meeting with NAB memebrs and agreed that we would give government aritime to air out important programmed and Communications. These were strictly for emergencies and national days’ addresses such as Independence Day, State of the Nation Address, and President’s End of Year message, among others.
The other resolution was to dedicate at least one hour on radio or 30 minutes on TV in a talk show format to the government to popularize or sensitize the public on national/developmental programmes, and on stations that have regular talk shows to at least ensure a fair presence of government officials on the panel of guests to present and defend the official position and ensure a balanced debate.
Abuse Of the Free Airtime:
Over time the offer has been interpreted differently more especially with upcountry radio stations, where Resident District Commissioners and political leaders storm radio stations at a time of their preference and demand to talk as and when they want, often interrupting normal programming.
This insatiable demand for airtime any time from the central government and district leaders not attainable.
Way Forward:
As exhibited during the fight against COVID-19, we’ll continue to avail our platforms for communication on National and International disasters and pandemics and all Presidential Addresses on national days. For other government programmes and communications, we request that all government functions and agencies pay for the airtime on their preferred channels.
A 2-5% budget component dedicated to communication and sensitization through our channels will deliver an effective campaign to popularize government programmes while supporting the media sector to continue playing their role sustainably.”
