– It was a year of resilience, progress characterised by triumphs, challenges
JACK MWEWA
Lusaka
TAKING stock of its accomplishments and setbacks in 2024, Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) has described the past year as one of resilience and progress, characterised by a mix of triumphs and challenges.
Perhaps, one of the most outstanding of its challenges was the murder of its director-general, Guntilla Muleya, in July last year, in a case that shocked the nation, leading to a brief disturbance in the operations of the authority.
As IBA Board chairperson Chikosola Chuula noted during the end-of-year press briefing, despite the challenges, significant strides were made in enhancing Zambia’s broadcasting landscape, with several key milestones achieved.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am now pleased to share the key highlights of the authority’s performance in 2024. The Guidelines for the Enforcement and Handling of Compliance Breaches, launched in 2023, have improved the regulation of the broadcasting industry,” Mr Chuula said.
With adherence to the Guidelines for the Enforcement and Handling of Compliance Breaches by both the authority and licensees, there was generally a significant improvement in broadcasting stations’ compliance with IBA’s regulations, especially in the areas mentioned below.
•Renewal and display of broadcasting licenses
•Payment of licence and annual operating fees
•Infrastructure of broadcasting houses
•Security of broadcasting premises, and
•Content produced and aired by stations
The authority also reported improvements in broadcast sound, picture quality and more professional production standards, attributing the development to the government’s announcement of a three-year tax waiver on broadcasting equipment in 2023.
“The government’s waiver on customs duty for broadcasting equipment has already shown signs of creating a more viable, competitive, and technologically advanced broadcasting sector, positioning Zambia’s broadcasting industry for sustained growth and success in the coming years,” Mr Chuula said.
Repeal of the IBA ActOn the ongoing process to repeal and replace the IBA Act, the authority is convinced that the move would address legal ambiguities and provide for a licensing framework that is responsive to technological advancements.
Mr Chuula said the authority felt that frequent amendments to the 2002 Act have led to confusion and legal ambiguities, which the new Act seeks to resolve for better clarity and effective regulation.
Strategic activities
The IBA undertook some strategic activities as highlighted in the 2023 – 2027 Strategic Plan and the legal mandate of promoting a pluralistic and diverse broadcasting sector in Zambia.
Key activities undertaken and their outcomes include:
Increased number of radio and television stations in Zambia through licensing.
While the authority did not issue any advertisements for frequencies in 2024, stations licensed in 2023 were authorised to start full broadcasting in 2024.
In addition, three (3) new licences were granted following their successful appeals to the Minister of Information and Media, after not being awarded licences in 2023.
Another significant achievement was the regularisation of Radio France International (RFI)’s operations in Zambia.
Similarly, Voice of America (VOA), which holds a landing rights licence, was granted permission to extend its coverage to Kitwe.
As of December 2024, Zambia had 190 radio stations and 66 television stations, bringing the total number of both radio and television to 256.
It is worth noting that most of the radio stations are community, and largely based in the rural parts of the country. This has helped to bridge the information gap in rural areas.
Workshops for broadcasting stations
Another key factor contributing to enhanced compliance levels recorded in 2024 was capacity-building initiatives undertaken by the authority together with other stakeholders.
The authority successfully conducted capacity-building training for 104 broadcasting stations in eight provinces, engaging approximately 200 participants.
These workshops focused on improving the capacity of
station managers and senior staff covering topics like the basics of journalism, media ethics, and operational efficiency.
This initiative demonstrated the authority’s commitment to fostering a more professional and compliant broadcasting environment in line with the strategic objective of enhancing compliance levels with the IBA Act above 80 percent by 2027.
Enhanced communication with stakeholders
IBA took steps towards improving communication with stakeholders by establishing the department of corporate communication to enhance internal and external communication.
Additionally, the authority launched awareness and publicity initiatives, including media interactions, stakeholder engagements and participation in key public events.
The efforts were designed to increase IBA’s visibility among the public and stakeholders further focused on educating the public about the complaints procedure, providing clear guidance on how the process works.
Enforcement of compliance In the year under review, the authority recorded 89 cases of non-compliance to licensing conditions.
The most common breach was the non-payment of annual operating fees by the due date of January 1, 2024.
Twenty-one stations were cited for failure to pay Annual Operating Fees followed by 17 stations that violated requirements related to infrastructure.
Six content-related cases were recorded involving poor moderation of programmes, hate speech and misinformation.
The relatively low number of content violations could be attributed to the capacity-building workshops reported earlier.
In response to these violations, the Authority took necessary actions as outlined in the Guidelines for the Enforcement and Handling of Compliance Breaches, ensuring strict adherence to broadcasting laws and regulations.
Suspensions
In 2024, the authority suspended eight broadcasting licences, seven of these suspensions were due to non-payment of Annual Operating
Fees while one station was suspended for being off-air beyond the legally allowed period.
It is worth noting that seven stations fulfilled the necessary conditions for reinstatement and their suspensions were lifted.
Cancellations
Three stations notified the authority that they had faced financial challenges that incapacitated them to continue operating their broadcasting services.
Two television stations cited failure to meet financial obligations to Topstar for signal distribution services, consequently surrendering their licences back to the authority.
In addition, one station failed to commence operations beyond the legally stipulated time, resulting in the withdrawal of the licence.
Power deficit
Generally, the broadcasting industry in Zambia faced significant challenges due to the ongoing electricity deficit caused by the prolonged drought conditions.
The energy shortfall led to frequent and extended power outages, particularly affecting broadcasting stations.
It was noted that power disruptions made it difficult
for broadcasters to maintain consistent operations, impacting the quality and availability of broadcasts, which also made it difficult for the authority to monitor such stations.
In response to the ongoing challenges of load-shedding, IBA took a proactive stance to help broadcasting stations manage the economic strain of power outages.
The authority granted a “Cooling-off Window,” an optional respite that allowed broadcasting stations to switch off their equipment between midnight and 06:00 hours.
This intervention helped stations reduce operational costs caused by the high expenses of running alternative power sources.
The window has since been extended to the end of February 2025.
The extension was arrived at following consultations with stakeholders and a survey conducted by the authority on the impact of load shedding of broadcasting stations.
In addition to the power challenges, broadcasting stations also experienced reduced revenue due to low expenditure on advertising.
Many advertisers scaled back their budgets in response to broader economic pressures, impacting the stations’ income.
These challenges underscore the need to explore alternative energy sources, such as solar power, to mitigate the impact of power shortages.
Focus for 2025
IBA is focused on several key strategic priorities such as:
i. Digitising processes by automating systems to improve service delivery by the authority for the benefit of the broadcasting industry.
ii. Strengthening internal controls to foster financial prudence and transparency.
iii.Enhancing inspections and content monitoring to foster a professional broadcasting sector
iv.Enhancing IBA awareness, brand and visibility to improve knowledge of IBA
v.Development of broadcasting regulations in anticipation of the new IBA Act.
The ongoing repeal and replacement of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) Acts will require corresponding changes to the existing legal framework.
As the IBA works towards achieving these strategic priorities in 2025, the authority remains committed to fostering a broadcasting sector that is innovative, compliant, and equipped to meet the needs of Zambia’s dynamic broadcast media landscape.
Recognition awards
IBA recognised radio and television stations that consistently complied with established standards and licensing conditions.
Recipients received plaques and certificates, while nominees received letters of encouragement.
This initiative is part of IBA’s broader effort to balance enforcement with recognition and shift the perception of the authority from being solely punitive to corrective while highlighting the positive impact of compliance.
As the programme evolves into a formalised system, it will ultimately encourage distinguished service and raise industry standards.
The inaugural 2024 IBA Recognition Awards saw Chikuni Radio, of Monze, and Phoenix FM of Lusaka, emerge as winners for most compliant in terms of payment of stipulated fees under community and commercial categories, respectively.
In the area of content, Yangeni Radio, of Mansa emerged as winner under community category while QFM, of Lusaka, was the winner for commercial category, Radio Christian Voicescooped the recognition for infrastructure under the community category, with Power FM emerging winner under the commercial category.
