Pastors banned from radio , TV adverts
MBABANE – The country’s communication regulator has published guidelines for the broadcasting sector and they do not make good reading for the clergy. As defined by the Macmillan English Dictionary, the clergy are people who lead religious services, especially Christian priests. Eswatini is a predominantly Christian country and most churches advertise their services through radio, television and print media.
According to the Broadcasting (Content) Guidelines 2022, which have been published by the Eswatini Communications Commission (ESCCOM), ‘it is unethical and not allowed’ for priests and prophets ‘to advertise inclusive of their institutions’. This is contained in clause 22 (1) of the guidelines, under the sub-heading ‘unacceptable advertising’.
To ‘advertise’, in the context of the guidelines, ‘means to broadcast any item in return for payment or other valuable consideration to a broadcaster or content service provider with the intention of (a) selling to a viewer or listener, any product or service; (b) convincing a viewer or listener of a belief or course of action; or (c) promoting a product, service, belief, course of action, person or organisation.’ Eswatini has four main electronic media houses – Eswatini Broadcasting and Information Services (EBIS), Voice of the Church, Eswatini TV, and Channel YemaSwati.
Reacting to the ban, Channel YemaSwati Director Qhawe Mamba said this would literally kill the station because they depended largely on advertising that is brought by pastors and their churches. He said the adverts from pastors and churches made up 60 per cent of their total advertising revenue. “We were called to a meeting by ESCCOM and we made our contributions. We spoke at length about the ban on priests and prophets and were opposed to it because we felt they had been wrongly grouped with doctors and the others. As a station we survive through churches. This ban will really hurt us,” Mamba said.
He stated that now that the final document on the guidelines had been published, they had no choice but to comply, even though it would affect them negatively.
Eswatini TV Corporate Affairs Manager Mncedisi Mayisela also alluded to being invited by ESCCOM to speak about the guidelines but was not aware that the final document had been published. He said in any case Eswatini TV would not be adversely affected because the station did not allow priests and prophets to advertise but they only give them programming slot, which they pay for. “We give them the programming slot, which, even though they pay for, is not categorised as advertising. Any church can get the slot; it’s part of the programming schedule but they do pay for that slot,” Mayisela said.
He said there was a rate card which determines how much the churches paid for the programming slots. Programming, in the guidelines, is defined in different categories.
A ‘Programme’ means a body of live or recorded material consisting of images, sounds or both embodied in signals emitted for the purpose of ultimate broadcasting. There is then ‘Programme Segment’ that means a programme which, in audio-visual sense, presents one (1) whole unit, with a beginning and end, clearly separated from other segments and content.
There is also ‘Sponsored Programme’, which has all or part of its costs paid for by a sponsor, with a view to promoting that sponsor’s, or another sponsor’s name, product or service.
Another is ‘Station Programming Format’, which means an arrangement of programmes that are presented by a broadcasting station;
EBIS Director Sabelo Dlamini, who also confirmed having participated in the deliberations over the guidelines, referred further enquiries to the regulator, as the custodian of the document. He, however, said he was not aware of the percentage that the churches and pastors contribute to the station’s advertising revenue. “What I am aware of is that the churches bring their sermons from the Christian Media Centre for us to broadcast but I do not know about adverts, I’ll have to check with the advertising department for the details,” Dlamini said.
‘‘VOC director said they definitely did not agree with the ban on adverts by priests and prophets because the activities of the church should be known by the people and congregants.”
VOC AGAINST BAN ON CHURCHES
VOC Director Reverend Zachariah Mthethwa said during the meeting with ESCCOM they spoke about the issue of prophets and priests to say that they should not advertise products but should advertise church services.
He said they definitely did not agree with the ban on adverts by priests and prophets because the activities of the church should be known by the people and congregants. “As a Christian radio station, we have to broadcast and advertise what the church is doing. There is no way a priest and prophet cannot go on radio to say where they would be and what they would be doing. We will continue to flight adverts on churches, their services and revivals. We don’t agree with this ban,” the reverend said.
Mthethwa stated that he be making a follow up with ESCCOM to find out how this ban eventually found its way into the guidelines, yet they opposed it during the consultation stages.
ESCCOM Director Strategy and Economic Regulation Lindiwe Dlamini said the guidelines were now operational and stakeholders were workshopped on them as they were being developed. “The procedure is that before they become final, stakeholders do get to comment on them, then thereafter they become final and operational,” he said.
She added that the guidelines were meant to guide the broadcasting sector players who were already operating, while the industry waited for the promulgation of the Broadcasting Bill into an Act of Parliament. The new broadcasting guidelines, which, besides the ban on priests and prophets’ adverts, come with a wholesale of other advertisement prohibitions, are set to replace the ones published in 2017, which did not provide for the ban on adverts for priests and prophets.
The 2017 guidelines have been acting as a reference to the Broadcasting Code of 2020, and the latter is the one that came close to this ban. Clause 4 of the code speaks on ‘advertising’ and in clause 4.2 it addresses ‘general advertising principles’ while clause 4.2.1 (c) states that ‘advertising shall not be offensive to religious or political beliefs’. There is then clause 4.3 which speaks to ‘fortune telling’ which goes on to state in clause 4.3.5 that ‘claims pertaining to matters of health, cures, curing and/or healing shall not be advertised’.
Clause 4.3.5 of the existing Code was modified from a proposal that had been made in the draft code, which sought to ban the electronic media from airing programmes on church healing.
The draft code had stated in Clause 4.1.17 that claims pertaining to matters of health, cures, curing and/or healing were not permitted. The modification was made after stakeholders and interested parties made their submissions of the proposed code, as provided for in Section 32 of the Act. Even with the new guidelines, the same process was followed as the pubic was invited to submit their written representations and the deadline was no later than 5pm on April 10, 2022.