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S. African government defends controversial broadcasting bill

Xinhua, March 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Broadcasting Amendment Bill, being criticized for reining in media independence, will not create a new regulatory regime, but seeks to strengthen corporate governance, the Department of Communications said on Monday.

The Bill will be presented to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Communications on Tuesday amid an outcry from the opposition.

The Bill will ensure the long-term stability and sustainability of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), said Mish Molakeng, spokesperson of the Department of Communications.

One of the proposed changes in the Bill is to reduce the number of SABC's non-executive board members from 12 to 9. The rational for this change is to strengthen the board and to streamline its operations, according to Molakeng.

"Further to that, the proposed amendments to the Broadcasting Act, are in line with our vision of ensuring universal access to broadcasting services in South Africa. The proposed changes will strengthen the SABC positioning and allow it to fulfil its public broadcasting service mandate," Molakeng said.

The Department of Communications invites all interested parties to participate in the parliamentary processes to deliberate on the proposed amendments to the Bill, he said.

But the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) wants thorough public consultation on the Bill before it is submitted to Parliament.

The party insists that the Bill in its current form will see the last vestige of independence removed from the SABC, paving the way for it to become the government's propaganda tool under the control of the minister of communications.

The party said the Bill will remove Parliament's role in the appointment of the SABC's non-executive board members, allowing the president to appoint non-executive members of the board on the advice of the minister of communications, not Parliament.

By reducing the number of the non-executive board members, the Bill will leave less room for dissenting opinion, the DA alleges.

"Given the gravity of this Bill, the DA will push for the Portfolio Committee on Communications to open the Bill up for a wide and extensive public comment process to allow members of the public, civil society, academics, the media and other groups to make written and verbal representations on this Bill," said Phumzile van Damme, DA Shadow Minister of Communications.

It has been rumoured that vacancies on the SABC board have not been filled for over a year in order to wait for the Bill to be passed, and allow for the Minister of Communications, Faith Muthambi to recommend non-executive board members who are friendly to the ruling African National Congress to President Jacob Zuma to be appointed to the SABC board.

"Should the ANC attempt to rush this bill through Parliament, the DA will use every mechanism at its disposal to ensure the independence of our public broadcaster and uphold to the principles espoused in section 32 of the Constitution," Van Damme said. Enditem