Tv License – South Africa, Ghana
In South Africa and Ghana, you cannot own a television set without paying a television license.
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According to South Africa’s Broadcasting Act, No 4 of 1999, you must pay for the license, whether you use the TV set or not, and whether you can get the national Broadcaster, SABC, signal.
The law further requires individuals whose TV sets are incapable of getting a signal to send a written notice to the broadcaster for an inspector to ascertain the situation and further pay an inspection fee.
With more people turning to digital TV, the number of people paying for this license has reduced, bringing into question the effectiveness of the law.
In Ghana, the TV licensing Act 1966 (NLCD 89) mandates the state broadcaster to collect the fees on behalf of the state and will retain 72% of the collections for its operations.
Defaulters could be convicted to a fine not exceeding GHS3,000 (US$ 646) or a jail term not exceeding a year, in accordance with Section 1(a) of Television Licensing (Amendment) Law, 1991.
