BY PHUMZILE NDLOVU
MBABANE – If you own a television set, then read this.
The Eswatini Television Authority (ESTVA) has encouraged all persons in possession of television devices to pay TV licence fees.
According to the Swaziland Television Authority Act 1983, all persons in possession of a television device are required to pay TV licence fees. A television viewer’s certificate or licence costs E180 per year per device. ESTVA is the Eswatini state-owned national broadcaster.
The television recorder or receiver, which includes accessories such as a decoder and/or set-top box, costs E50 per year per device. In total, the fee is E230, depending on the number of devices. These fees are payable on or before December 31st, annually.
A licence expires on the 31st of December of the year for which it is issued or renewed. Worth noting is that these are fees for a viewer’s certificate or licence.
When reached for comment, Phumelele Dlamini, who is in the TV licence division at the TV station, said, “Payment of TV licence fees is about compliance with the laws that govern television possession. It is not a service contract for viewership of Eswatini TV, but compliance. The station, as the Authority of Television Broadcast mandated by law, oversees the payment of TV licences,” shared Dlamini.
Devices that need to pay the licences also include a decoder, set-top box, and television recorders.
The work of TV licence collection by the station is governed by the Swaziland Television Authority Act of 1983 and its regulations. According to the Television Viewers (Certificate and Licence) Regulations, 1983 (under Section 26). Clause 7 states that a person who owns a television receiver and refuses, fails, or neglects to comply with the provisions of the regulations: 1. shall pay to a collecting agent authorised by the Eswatini Television Authority an amount, in addition to the arrears, equal to 50 percent of such calculated amount; (a) from the date of purchase of the television receiver where the owner has never complied. (b) from the date of default in payment.
When asked what happens to furniture shops or retail shops that don’t comply with the law of issuing TV licences when selling television sets, she said, “The ‘Act’ provides for a monthly payment of E15.” Clause 22(2) of the Swaziland Television Authority Act of 1983 states that a business or a person dealing in or in any manner trading in television receivers, recorders, and other television equipment or accessories shall in no way deal in the business without a licence issued in terms of this ‘Act’,” said Dlamini.
She shared with this publication that a furniture or retail outlet that breaches the conditions of the licence faces suspension or revocation of the licence. “For a business or a person dealing in or in any manner trading in television receivers, recorders, and other television equipment or accessories, the TV licence costs E300 per year per store,” shared Dlamini
When asked about the benefits of paying a TV licence, Dlamini said, “The positive spin-off of paying a TV licence, apart from compliance, is that the money is in turn used by the authority to fund the operations of the TV station in support of the above mandate. This includes, by extension, procuring appealing and relevant content to broadcast on the channel.”
She added, “What we are cognizant of having noted over the years is that emaSwati are yearning to see local content on our screen; they want us to tell our own stories; they want to see relevant content they can relate to.
According to Dlamini Eswatini TV, it is obligated by the licence issued by the regulator, the Eswatini Communications Commission (ESCCOM), to procure at least 60% of its local content from independent producers. Independent producers are entities and individuals in the film industry who earn their living by producing content to sell to TV stations, including Eswatini TV.
With ESTVA, procuring local content from independent producers helps ensure the arts and film industry is well supported and thus further ensures the creation of jobs for emaSwati. The payment of TV licence fees thus goes a long way in such endeavours as well as nation-building.
“As a TV station, we are appealing to emaSwati to do the right thing, and that is to pay their licences to enable the Authority to fund the procurement of content, in particular local content, to grow the film industry, and to ensure ESTVA continues to play its role of being the voice of the nation,” concluded Dlamini.
