By Surihe Gaomas WINDHOEK Start paying your NBC-TV license fee and all outstanding interest will be written off, setting you off on a clean slate. This is part of an incentive offered by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) to those who pay their television licenses, beginning next month. The good news is that this year the renewal date is marked by an ‘amnesty’. This means that all those who renew and pay their television licenses from October 01 to November 30, 2006 will be exempt from paying any penalties on outstanding fees. The fee per TV set remains N$204 for the general public, while rates for entrepreneurs are based on the NBC Rate Card. TV license holders who pay their dues within this period will only have to pay their license fees again from 2007 – those starting on a clean slate altogether without any arrears. The licence fee is for the period October 1st to September 30 the following year. However, those who fail to pay up within this period will have to pay their television licence fees backdated to their last payment. A media release by the Director General of the NBC, Vezera Bob Kandetu, also says the national broadcaster is now officially taking back the collection of television license fees from Penduka Africa (Pty) Ltd. Both NBC and Penduka have agreed “the NBC will take over the responsibility of collecting television license fees from Penduka Africa with effect from September 1, 2006,” says Kandetu. The collection of fees was outsourced to Penduka Africa in April 2004. This arrangement has fallen through – meaning the national broadcaster is now responsible for issuing and processing television licenses and will in future be collecting TV license fees from the general public again. Based on the Namibian Broadcasting Act Number 9 of 1991, the NBC is empowered to collect television license fees from the public and from television retail dealers. “Therefore, Namibians and television dealers in possession of television sets are expected to renew or obtain television licenses for the period 2006/2007 with the NBC and not with Penduka, as the said function has reverted to NBC,” states Kandetu further. The cancellation of interest debt should be a good incentive for people to pay their television licenses. Kandetu urges the public to come forward and pay for their television licenses from the first of next month, in order to avoid the penalties that may follow if they don’t stick to this arrangement. All television fees can now be paid in the following account at all the banks in the country, NamPost branches as well as at the NBC operational centres. Account no: 62061199602 Bank: First National Bank Remember to quote your reference number with every payment. Once you register as a TV owner you get a reference number.