Broadcasters petition parliament over govt adverts
By Mike Sebalu
The Committee of ICT and National Guidance is set to consider a petition by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) on President Yoweri Museveni’s directive to have all government adverts go through state-owned media [Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) and Vision Group] only starting this current financial year.
In her communication to parliament, Speaker Anita Among said she received the petition from NAB which she referred to the committee for scrutiny.
“The petition regards the government policy on business to private media houses where all the adverts are supposed to only be given to one media house,” said Among.
Private broadcasters say the directive blocks them from benefiting from government advertising and have since paused coverage of government activities until the directive is reversed.
Meanwhile, President Museveni agreed to meet the leadership of the National Association of Broadcasters on August 10, 2023, to discuss an amicable way on how advertising funds are distributed across both private and state-owned media.