Luanda - The Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication (MINTTICS) announced, on Monday, the suspension of the broadcasting activity of the companies Rede Record TV Angola Limited, plus Record TV Africa and foreign journalists linked to them.
The measure, which comes into force at 00:00 on Wednesday, April 21, also covers the broadcasting of the digital television channels ZAP VIVA and VIDA TV, indicates a statement from this ministerial department, sent to ANGOP.
According to the document, provisional records of newspapers, magazines, news web pages and radio stations with no effective activity in the last two years will also be suspended.
In fact, the ministerial department suspends the Record TV Angola Limited which represents the TV Record África, among other reasons, for having a foreigner as Executive Director.
The ministry also complains that the foreign staff of Rede Record Televisão Angola Ltd, which carry out journalistic activity in the country, are not accredited in the Aníbal de Melo Press Center (responsible for the accreditation of foreign journalist to work in Angola).
On the other hand, it mentions that the companies that provide pre-paid television service, namely TV CABO SA, DSTV ANGOLA, SA, FINSTAR - holder of ZAP TV, are duly legalized, but they broadcast the channels ZAP VIVA, VIDA TV AND RECORD TV without registration for the exercise of television activity in Angola.
These kinds of situations, says the MINTTICS, are illegal for violating the rules of the Angolan Press Law, the Law on the Exercise of Television Activity and the Law on the Status of Journalists, as well as Presidential Decree No. 108/16, of 25 May, which approves the General Regulations for Electronic Communications.
According to the ministerial department, since 1991 it has been granting provisional registrations for the purposes of licensing for the exercise of the media activity.
However, within the scope of an internal process of reorganization and analysis of these provisional records, it was found that of the 243 registered newspapers, only 34 are operating in Angola.
Likewise, of the 459 registered magazines, only 17 are active, stressing that 10 news portals are registered and in operation, as well as 144 radio stations, but only 117 are in operation.
Finally, the ministry ensures that the suspension of television companies should remain in effect until they are regularized with the National Directorate for Information and Institutional Communication.
