WHY YOU SHOULD PAY FOR YOUR TV LICENCE

Sir,

Many people have questioned why they need to pay for a television licence and why the sudden fuss about television licences. I will attempt to provide a brief answer in the hope that a lot of people will be enlightened.

A TV licence is not a ‘service contract’ between a licencee and the Swaziland Television Authority (STVA). The payment of TV licence fees is a statutory (legal) requirement in terms of an Act of Parliament, specifically Section 22 of the Swaziland Television Authority Act of 1983. The Act does not confer any rights on a licencee to make demands from the STVA for better or improved quality.

For one to receive television signal, they have to access the electromagnetic frequencies.
The electromagnetic spectrum (broadcasting frequencies) through which all TV and radio signals are transmitted and received is regarded as a national asset. Access to broadcasting frequencies is therefore one of the major reasons why one pays for his/her television licence.

Broadcasters pay by way of a radio or television broadcasting licence for the right of using this resource to broadcast programmes to their viewers. TV viewers, in turn, need a television licence for being in possession of a device (a TV set) that enables them to access those frequencies in order to receive broadcast programmes.

Therefore, the television licence fee is a levy imposed by the kingdom, not STVA, on access to Swaziland’s broadcasting frequencies. In the same way that a vehicle licence grants a motorcar owner access to the country’s road network, a TV licence authorises the use of a television set to access the broadcasting frequencies.

Payment of TV licence fees does not constitute offer by STVA and acceptance by the licence holder in a commercial sense. The only effect that the issuing of a licence has is to legalise the use of a TV set by a licence holder.
The Act does not allow licence holders to withhold payment until and unless STVA delivers TV programmes or other ‘services’ to their satisfaction. It is therefore a criminal offence in terms of Section 22 of the Act; it is a criminal offence for one to be in possession of a television set without a licence.

TV licence is paid not only in Swaziland but in some developed countries such as the United Kingdom, German, Austria, Denmark, Japan , France, Singapore just to mention but a few. In Africa, countries such as South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, just to mention but a few have television licence fees payment.

Only one country, Nigeria has never had a law on television licence. The Act is therefore not an eerie and / or barbaric law as most would like to think. It is not only peculiar to Swaziland as demonstrated above.
Lastly, A TV licence is not a ‘service/or product’ of some kind, which is meant to be ‘purchased’ by ‘consumers’ on the basis of its offering better value than similar competing products. Like a vehicle licence or a liquor or a gun licence it is nothing more and nothing less than an official authorisation – in this case, the right to have in one′s possession and/or use of a television set.

Neither is the licence fee ‘payment’ for the Swazi TV’s programmes, nor is there any exemption or ‘discount’ because of dissatisfaction with the language dispensation or programmes on television, or on any other grounds whatsoever.
Therefore, the requirement for one to pay for a TV licence has nothing to do with the content one watches. As already stated, the licence payment is not a service contract between the licensee and STVA. It is a statutory obligation. One pays for TV because he/she is in possession of a television set or a gadget capable of transmitting television signal.

Modicai Donga
TV Licence Project Manager

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