The Political Economy of Broadcasting and Telecommunications Reform in Namibia: 1990 - 2005
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The Political Economy of Broadcasting and Telecommunications Reform in Namibia: 1990 - 2005 William Edward Heuva Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Graduate Programme in Culture, Communication and Media Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. / declare that this dissertation is my own unaided work. It is being submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities, Development and Social Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination in any other University. William Edward Heuva April 2007 i Acknowledgements The research project presented here has been conducted over a long period. It evolved and changed significantly over time. This is due to the nature and dynamics of the object of study. The communications sector which is the focus of this project has experienced rapid changes and transformations in the past 15 years and therefore, it was difficult to set a deadline for the project. Consequently I was compelled to extend the cut off date several times, shifting from the 1990-2000 to the 1990-2002 and finally to the 1990- 2005, in order to facilitate more research and analysis to determine the impact of the latest changes on policy and practice. My preoccupation with these transformations sometimes led to a cul-de-sac and frustrations. Nevertheless, the task is completed but not without encouragement and support from several individuals and institutions that I wish to acknowledge here. Firstly, I am thankful to my supervisor, Professor Ruth Teer-Tomaselli, who more than myself believed in the project. She did not only provide me with advice and encouragement, but also offered me two NRF-grant holder bursaries that enabled me to conduct my research. My sincere gratitude goes to her and to Professor Keyan Tomaselli, who together facilitated my exchange research fellowship at the University of Oslo (Norway). I would also like to acknowledge assistance rendered to me by Professor Helge R0nning, Dr. Eli Skogerb0 and staff and students, including Durnisa Moyo and Eric Mazango, in the Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo. Special thanks go to Dr. Clive Barnett for his constructive comments during the first stages of my research. I would further like to acknowledge constructive comments and academic engagements from my colleagues at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, namely Namo Maphiriphiri, Merinda Young, Ntathi Moorosi and the late Arnold Shepperson. It is also impossible not to mention my colleague Elizabeth M'ule who took all the trouble to correct my Namlish (Namibian English). n Finally, my family and friends need a special word of appreciation for their understanding and patience during this long period in which I neglected them. Special appreciation goes to my wife, Tuyeni, who provided me with space to research, study and travel abroad while she kept the family together during my long absence from home. I will also not forget to thank my cousin, William Tuneeko, for his selfless efforts in helping me covering the distance between Windhoek and Durban by car, on many occasions, throughout the period of my research. The thesis is dedicated to the memories of my sisters Bella and Esther who passed on during its writing. The responsibility for shortcomings and errors in this study are entirely mine. iii Abstract The thesis begins with a literature review on the political economy of communication, paying particular attention to the impact of globalisation on the communications sector. It highlights conflictual relationships between commercialisation and democratisation in transforming broadcasting and telecommunications in an era of globalisation. In doing this the study contends that the process of democratisation and commercialisation are 'mutually incompatible', as one can only be realised at the expense of the other. Namibia gained its independence in 1990 and set out to transform and restructure its communication systems to respond to the demands of a new society. At the same time the country had to address the demands of an emerging global order. While trying to democratise and build a new nation based on the values of equity, social justice and participation, Namibia had to respond to commercial imperatives of global capitalism that were not necessarily compatible with the demands of democratisation and nation- building. The thesis argues that these conflicting demands resulted in challenges and contradictions experienced in the entire transformation process of the communications sector, which the State failed to overcome. The thesis examines the policy, legal and regulatory practices adopted by the State to transform the communications sector and assess the internal and external factors that led to the adoption of these practices. It illuminates the roles and responsibilities of this sector in the broader transitional process. In Chapters Six and Seven the thesis examines the restructuring processes of NBC and Telecom Namibia, at a micro level. This analysis pays particular attention to the manner in which these two institutions were streamlined (downsized and rightsized) in order to become effective, efficient and profitable in discharging their new mandate. It argues that the streamlining process prevented these institutions from properly performing some of their core mandates, particularly the provision of non-profitable public services. The thesis also interrogates the penetration of the new Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in Namibian society in Chapter Eight. It argues that while iv government adopted most of the relevant policies to establish an enabling environment for the transformation of the country into an 'information society', the penetration of the ICTs remained dismal. This elucidates the factors that led to this poor penetration. In conclusion the thesis provides a summary of the major findings and arguments. It contends that the neo-liberal policies of commercialisation and liberalisation adopted to transform the communications sector coupled with the restructuring of the national broadcaster and telecommunications operator along commercial lines tended to diminish rather than advance the goal of universal and affordable communications services to the majority of the people. v Table of Content Declaration i Acknowledgement ii Abstract iv SECTION 1: Theoretical and Methodological Frameworks Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Aims and objectives 1 1.2 Background and context 2 1.3 Statement of the problem 5 1.4 Research questions 7 1.5 Principal theories on which the study is constructed 8 1.6 Liberal (dominant) versus critical political economy 10 1.7 Methodological approaches 11 1.8 Procedure and techniques 12 1.9 Structure of the dissertation 14 Chapter 2: The Political Economy of Communication 16 2.1 Introduction 16 2.2 Transformation and restructuring: conceptual analysis 16 2.3 Globalisation 18 2.3.1 The capitalist mode of production 19 2.3.2 State policy strategies 21 2.3.2.1 Commercialisation 21 2.3.2.2 Liberalisation 22 2.3.2.3 Privatisation 23 2.3.2.4 Internationalisation 23 2.3.3 States' reaction to globalisation 25 2.3.4 Critique of the economic globalisation 26 2.3.5 The role of the State in globalisation 27 2.4 Political versus economic role of media and communication 31 2.5 Democratisation versus commercialisation 35 2.6 Communication policy 43 2.6.1 Power and policy 46 2.6.2 Broadcasting policy 49 2.6.3 Telecommunications policy 52 2.7 Regulating the communications sector 55 2.7.1 broadcasting regulatory practice 58 2.7.2 Universal Service Obligation (USO) 61 2.7.3 Effective and efficient regulatory regime 62 2.7.4 Ownership and control 65 2.8 Summary and conclusion 67 vi SECTION 2: Policy, Legal and Regulatory Reforms Chapter 3: Principles of Broadcasting Policy Reform 71 3.1 Introduction 71 3.2 Ideological orientation of the colonial broadcasting policy 71 3.3 The genesis of the colonial broadcasting system 72 3.4 Post-independence broadcasting policy initiatives 76 3.5 Functions and responsibility of the post-colonial national broadcaster 80 3.6 Policy making process and public participation 86 3.7 The'right to know' 91 3.8 'Free flow of information' 96 3.9 Expansion of the information and communication infrastructure 101 3.10 Patterns of media ownership 104 3.11 Pluralism, diversity and empowerment 106 3.12 Human resources development 110 3.13 Summary and conclusion 111 Chapter 4: Power and Control in the Broadcasting Sector 114 4.1 Introduction 114 4.2 Re-regulating the broadcasting sector 114 4.3 'Capturing' the regulator 115 4.4 Regulating the national broadcaster through political control 121 4.5 Commodification of the broadcasting space 131 4.6 Broadcasting market structure 134 4.6.1 M?Cjoint ventures 141 4.6.2 Commercial radio 142 4.6.3 Grassroots broadcasting 143 4.7 Regulating private broadcasters 146 4.8 Summary and conclusion 153 Chapter 5: Telecommunications Policy and Regulatory Regime 155 5.1 Introduction 155 5.2 The colonial telecommunications: a brief overview 155 5.3 Impact of global changes on the Namibian telecommunications reform 160 5.4 Contesting claims by protagonists 166 5.5 State telecommunications policy strategies 168 5.5.1 Liberalisation 172 5.5.2 Competition 172 5.5.3 Transparency 174 5.5.4 Privatisation 175 5.6 Regulating the national telecom operator 179 5.6.1 Legal instruments 180 5.6.2 Tariff regulation 183 5.5.3 Universal service 184 5.7 Telecommunications