Over the years, I have penned several articles about our national broadcasting station ? the MBC. Unfortunately, the latter has the knack to generate bad/negative news about itself with the latest being the hostile exchanges (reported in the press) between its Board?s chairman and director general.

No doubt the above is cause for concern especially in an era where the first phases of liberalisation have delivered three private commercial radios that are competing with the MBC for airtime, audience share and advertising money. One would have thought and expected that this new (despite nascent) broadcast landscape would have acted as an initiative for the MBC to put aside its habitual public display of internal bickering and strive towards meeting the challenges brought by broadcast liberalisation.

The MBC has always been a hot potato to handle and this has been exacerbated over time due to the relationship that has existed and continues to exist with those who are in power. A relationship that for many observers and commentators of broadcast matters has stripped the MBC of the autonomy and independence that is so crucial in building the necessary credibility, impartiality and professionalism expected from any broadcasting station and even more so when it carries a public service mandate.

In the recent past, political pledges have been made to ?liberate? the MBC but these pledges have either been quickly broken or conveniently forgotten. There is no doubt that political interference has its fair share of blame but it is not the only element that has landed the MBC into its present difficulty. In fact, there is a whole ensemble of features (or lack of features) that has made the MBC a broadcast lightweight and if the MBC is ever to compete in a liberalised broadcast environment measures must be initiated and taken.

The first issue that requires urgent attention is the MBC Act. The present MBC Act dates back to 1982! It is hard to believe that during the last 20 years or so that the government and broadcast policymakers deemed it not important to update the legislation that defined the principles of public broadcasting in Mauritius when so much has changed in the broadcast business. It seems that Sir Victor Glover has had the task of reviewing aspects of the MBC 1982 Act and no doubt this is a commendable effort but the main concern lies in the fact that whatever changes were proposed were done behind closed doors. In fact being a staunch defender of public ownership and believing that matters pertaining to the public must be aired and debated thoroughly in the open so as to gather in the most democratic manner the views and opinions of those who are concerned by the proposed changes. This is ever so more important as broadcasting is first and foremost a public good. In the case of the MBC 1982 Act bringing cosmetic changes to the Act is not a solution in itself as one of the major problems of the present Act is the non-applicability of certain of its objectives namely those dealing with independence and impartiality. However, the time has come to conduct a major and thorough consultative exercise with all the stakeholders so as to ensure that the demands and expectations of all those concerned are translated into broadcast legislation and that the latter is not only enforced but also regularly monitored.

The second issue that has made the MBC a weak and ineffective organization is the total absence of an organisational culture. The organisational/corporate culture should not only provide the necessary guidelines for those working in the organization but should also embody the ?soul? of the organization by setting the required exemplars and baselines for best practices as well as investment strategies at all levels of the organization and namely in human resources.

In the case of broadcasting the most renowned and referred culture is that of the BBC. In fact, the BBC has been able to establish a culture, which epitomises quality, good standards, independence, impartiality and rigour and this is visible whether in the people it employs or the programmes it produces or decides to broadcast. The recent ?tug of war? between the BBC and the British Government concerning the Kelly affair is a case in point in independence. However, political independence comes at a heavy cost as no doubt the BBC will witness with tomorrow?s publication of the Hutton report. The whole idea of developing a strong culture and this is especially applicable to the broadcasting industry and more particularly to public broadcasting corporations like the BBC and the MBC is to ?legitimise? their position and empower those working for it so that they are ?immune? as much as possible to political interferences.

In the case of the MBC if there has ever been a culture it has been the wrong one! In fact, in the 35+ years of its existence the situation at the MBC has deteriorated as those working there have been subjected to constant bickering, frustration and alienation. Over the years, political clans have been set up encouraging the personnel to seek political patronage whilst ostracising those who were not interested in engaging in such practices. All this has turned the MBC into an over-staffed organisation with an ever-increasing pool of freelancers, certain departments with no one to head them and a general lack of sense of direction. What has been done to address this chaotic situation? There have been occasions (1982, 1991 and more recently 2001) when those in power have realised that an overtly partial and biased broadcasting station is not a flattering image and have attempted to bring out changes. However, these proposed changes have been more likely to be ?shock therapies? where those who were thought to be causing the MBC to lose credibility were warned, blacklisted and even dismissed.

The MBC is indeed at the crossroads of its existence as the changing broadcast landscape slowly starts to erode the sole and prime position that it had carved for itself. Non-satisfied viewers (who de facto will become customers) will seek alternative broadcast operators whether they be private radio channels, Pay TV channels or ultimately private TV channels leaving the MBC to handle a dwindling audienceship, which might put into peril the legitimacy of the its licence fee. In fact, the MBC?s salvation lies in the audience and the only way to retain them is to ensure that it becomes a producer and diffuser of quality based programmes (local and foreign), an exemplar of impartial information and a crucible for professional behaviour and good broadcasting practice. In the UK for example many of the ?courageous? decisions that were taken by the BBC were done because of public backing.

Time is of the essence and it is imperative that the MBC starts to behave in a responsible manner instead of seeking political arbitrage each time it is rocked by an internal feud. A balanced and mature relationship has to be established with those in power, which will be more about partnership than control, more about flexibility than authoritarianism and more about creativity than imposition. Only then will the MBC earn the respect and trust of the Mauritian public.

• Dr Roukaya Kasenally is Head of Media and Communication Unit, Faculty of Social Studies and Humanities, University of Mauritius.