Broadcasting Authority Act of 2002

The chief aim of the Independent Broadcasting Authority Act, 2002, is to provide for the control and regulation of broadcasting in Zambia. It establishes the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to do so.

The functions of the IBA in terms of Article 5 include:

− promoting a pluralistic and diverse Zambian broadcasting industry;

− developing broadcasting in Zambia through a public process that determines the needs of citizens and social groups;

− issuing licenses with the view to discourage monopolies;

− developing advertising, sponsorship and local content regulations;

− obliging broadcasters to develop codes of practice and monitoring compliance;

− developing programming standards for the industry;

− receiving, investigating and adjudicating complaints.

The IBA is supposed to be independent, but there is some dispute about whether this is so in practice, because the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services appoints members of the appointments committee. Because of an ongoing dispute over the powers of the minister to accept or reject the recommendations of the appointments committee, the IBA board has not yet been appointed.

Article 19 prohibits the operation of a broadcasting service without a license. In terms of Article 19(2) there are five types of broadcasting license: commercial, community, religious, subscription, and public. A political party or organisation founded by a political party and non-citizens of Zambia may not hold a broadcast license.