The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) is the public broadcaster in Namibia. Established in 1979 as South West African Broadcasting Corporation (SWABC), NBC has grown into a fully fledged broadcast conglomerate that airs nine radio stations and five television channels (NBC1, focused on news and current affairs, drama and children’s programs; NBC2, focused on news; NBC3, a pay-TV channel focused on telenovelas, sports and movies; NBC4, focused on educational programming; and NBC5, a pay-TV channel airing music).
Media assets
Television: NBC1, NBC2, NBC3, NBC4, NBC5
Radio: Kati FM, Kaisames FM, Funkhaus FM, Nwanyi FM, Wato FM, Hartklop FM, Omurari FM, Tys FM, National FM
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
NBC was created through the Namibian Broadcasting Act (Act no 9 of 1991), which defines the corporation as a “juristic person.” The NBC is supervised by the NBC Board of Directors who are appointed by the Minister of Information and Communication Technology for a period of five years. The NBC Board, in turn, appoints a Director General. This Director General is a member of the Board, but is not entitled to exercise a vote at board meetings. According to the Broadcasting Act, the Director General exercises control and supervision over the other officers and employees of the NBC and performs duties assigned to him or her by the NBC Board.
Source of funding and budget
NBC’s main source of funding is an annual state subsidy. Other sources of income are sale of airtime and programs, the issuing of yearly television licenses and fees from rental of transmitters. NBC was allocated by the state a subsidy of NAD 140m (US$ 8.6m) for the 2019/20 financial year. The funding came from the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, from a total yearly ministry budget of NAD 321m (US$ 19.7m). The state subsidy for NBC has been decreasing in the past five years as the government has been faced with a gaping budget deficit. For the fiscal year 2021/2022, the government allocated a state subsidy of NAD 127m (US$ 8.6m), according to the state budget of Namibia.
Being a recipient of state subsidies, NBC is accountable in the first instance to its line ministry, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, and in the second instance to the Namibian Parliament. The ministry is the keeper of the NBC budget.
Editorial independence
NBC’s General Director has repeatedly boasted that the station is editorially independent. However, the broadcaster has been criticized for being biased in favor of the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation, officially known as SWAPO, party. Allegations of political interference have intensified in the past year as government representatives have increased their control over the broadcaster’s editorial coverage.
No domestic statute establishing the editorial independence of NBC has been identified.
There is a Media Ombudsman in Namibia, which is an independent assessment institution that takes complaints about all the media in Namibia, calling on media outlets to remedy the situation or improve their editorial coverage. Although it is not a mechanism established specifically to monitor the editorial coverage of NBC, the Media Ombudsman includes NBC’s coverage in its work. Yet, this institution doesn’t guarantee in any way NBC’s editorial independence.
September 2023