SABC Bill headache

South African cabinet ministers have been stripped of their power to withdraw bills without first getting approval from Deputy President Paul Mashatile and President Cyril Ramaphosa, Sunday Times reports.

Mashatile wrote to National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza last week, informing her that the decision was made during a cabinet meeting on 22 November 2024.

This comes after Minister for Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi withdrew the controversial SABC bill. However, the new cabinet rule may have come too late to nullify the withdrawal.

Mashatile’s spokesperson, Keith Khoza, told the Sunday Times that it is prudent that the cabinet and the president are involved in decisions to withdraw legislation when they are involved in its approval.

There seems to be confusion over whether the decision can be applied retrospectively.

According to Democratic Alliance leaders in the Government of National Unity (GNU), it cannot apply retrospectively, and Malatsi’s withdrawal has not been nullified.

However, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni disagrees. Last week, she told the media that Mashatile’s letter nullified Malatsi’s withdrawal of the SABC bill.

The withdrawal, which has yet to be gazetted by Didiza, was carried out in terms of subrule 1 of rule 277, which empowers ministers to withdraw legislation by writing to the speaker.

Malatsi withdrew the bill in early November 2024, describing it as “totally flawed”. He said he had invoked his discretionary powers as minister to cancel the bill after extensive consultations with stakeholders.

The minister believes the bill lacks a credible funding model and said it doesn’t meet the urgency of stabilising the public broadcaster.

Several broadcasting experts, former SABC executives, and media watchdogs like Media Monitoring Africa and the SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition share this view.

The bill would give the minister overarching political powers over the SABC, which the South African National Editors’ Forum took particular issue with.

Malatsi agreed, saying the bill would jeopardise the public broadcaster’s editorial independence by giving the minister “additional powers” to appoint board members.

Another of the bill’s major flaws is that it fails to address the SABC’s financial struggles. It desperately needs a new funding model to help it fulfil its mandate.

The bill, published in October 2023 by then communications minister Mondli Gungubele, proposes that the minister develop a sustainable framework for funding the SABC within three years of the bill’s adoption.

Media watchdogs like Media Monitoring Africa and the SOS Coalition for Public Broadcasting said three years would be too little, too late.

Malatsi’s withdrawal of the bill was opposed by Khusela Diko, the chairperson of Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications.

In a statement, Diko noted the withdrawal with “grave concern”, adding that the committee hadn’t been formally notified of it, as required by the National Assembly’s rules.

“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 by the minister would be highly ill-advised,” Diko said.

“It is no exaggeration to say it would sound the death knell for the SABC.”