SABC TV Licence trouble
Communications minister Solly Malatsi’s withdrawal of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Bill has drawn criticism from his deputy, Mondli Gungubele, who introduced the Bill when he served as minister.
Gungubele published the draft Bill in October last year after several years of consideration, based on inputs from key industry stakeholders — including the SABC itself.
The SABC Bill was intended to replace the Broadcasting Act of 1999, which is considered outdated, given developments in the broadcasting and streaming industry in the past few years.
However, several industry stakeholders blasted the proposed new legislation for failing to address the collapse of the TV Licence system and the SABC’s funding crisis.
Instead, the Bill effectively kicked the can down the road. It proposed that the Ministers of Finance and Communications develop a replacement funding model within three years of the law coming into effect.
Malatsi cited this deficiency as the primary reason for withdrawing the SABC Bill.
Gungubele voiced his concerns following the Bill’s withdrawal in an interview with the SABC, saying that Malatsi’s actions were “highly counterproductive”.
“When you remove the Bill to deal with the financial model, it means that when you come back, you have to start another long process so that you have a legal basis for it,” Gungubele said.
“I find it illogical because the Bill is already in the parliamentary process.”
Gungubele explains that once the Bill is in this parliamentary process, members of Parliament have it, and all that needs to be done is amend the parts that undermine its ideal intention.
While Gungubele is not advocating for the Bill, the former minister highlights the SABC’s dire financial position, which requires funding as soon as possible to upskill and adapt to the ever-changing media environment.
“We are moving from analogue to digital. All that calls for the SABC is to invest in digital infrastructure, such as over-the-top (OTT) and direct-to-home technology,” Gungubele said.
“The lifespan of its current infrastructure is reaching its end. So, the SABC cannot wait indefinitely for access to money.”
While Gungubele may disagree with Malatsi’s actions, the minister told TechCentral that his relationship with his deputy is “still workable” and that the situation is natural.
Khusela Diko, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications, was also frustrated by Malatsi’s actions, saying the minister had derailed a year-long process.
“While appreciative of the fact that as the executive authority, the minister may rescind the Bill for whatever reason before its second reading in the House, the chairperson holds that this decision would be highly ill-advised,” Diko said.
“It is no exaggeration to say it would sound the death knell for the SABC.”
Malatsi said he had invoked his discretionary powers as minister to cancel the Bill after wide-ranging consultations with stakeholders and reviewing public submissions to Parliament’s communications portfolio committee.
Many media stakeholders have supported the minister’s decision to withdraw the Bill.
When asked whether Diko’s argument that Parliament has fixed the SABC Bill holds water, Media Monitoring Africa director William Bird said it was fundamentally flawed from the start.
He likened transforming the Bill into something useful to trying to turn a goat into a Ferrari.
Bird said the proposed law did nothing to address the SABC’s current funding crisis and did not offer new ideas.
Asked whether the Bill’s proposal to establish a separate commercial division within the SABC was a good idea, Bird said that wasn’t new either.
“This idea that is put forward in the Bill is not new. It’s how the SABC is currently structured and has been for the last 27 years,” says Bird.
The national coordinator of the SOS Support Public Broadcasting coalition, Uyanda Siyotula, echoed Bird’s stance in supporting the minister’s withdrawal of the Bill.
One reason for this was that the Bill would have been passed without the finalisation of the audio and audiovisual content policy.
“We believe that this withdrawal will allow the audio and audiovisual content policy to be finalised before the SABC Bill is presented to Parliament,” she told 702.
Siyotula said she disagreed with Gungubele’s stance that the Bill should be passed and amended later because of the SABC’s financial position.
She said the Bill was “flawed to the core and needed proper consultation and redrafting, not an amendment.”
However, she said that the minister is still urged to treat the Bill as a matter of urgency.
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