The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, Ms Khusela Sangoni Diko, has noted with grave concern the decision of the Minister of Communication and Digital Technologies, Mr Solly Malatsi, to withdraw the South African Broadcasting (SABC) Bill from Parliament, as reported in the Sunday Times today, 10 November 2024. The Portfolio Committee has not yet been formally notified of the withdrawal of the proposed legislation in line with the Rules of the National Assembly.

Nonetheless, the report states that the minister has decided to withdraw the Bill, believing it is “totally flawed”, does not address the funding model of the public broadcaster and assigns too much power to the minister in appointing board members. 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, and it is no exaggeration to say it would sound the death knell for the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

The challenges facing the SABC require a considered and urgent response, not trigger-happy action, which serves no purpose but to frustrate and disrupt processes already underway. To withdraw the Bill at this stage means to delay the implementation of crucial reforms necessary to save yet another crucial and strategic public institution. Initiated by the government in 2018 and only introduced to Parliament in October 2023, the SABC Bill seeks to, among others, provide for the continued existence of the SABC, provide for its governance and consequently amend the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) Act and the Electronic Communications Act (ECA). To date, the Bill has undergone a thorough public participation process, with the sixth Parliament having received about twenty written submissions from the SABC itself, academia, youth representatives, organised labour, and other interested parties. The 7th Parliament, understanding the urgent challenges facing the public broadcaster, prioritised this critical legislation and held oral hearings into the submissions in September 2024. The committee diligently studied and interrogated these submissions, and all concerns raised by stakeholders were attended to. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), which the minister leads, was expected to have responded to the issues raised during the public participation process by the 17th of October 2024.

This process underway and agreed to by the committee and in the Minister's presence would have provided the committee with a clear way forward to amend the Bill as provided for in the Rules of Parliament and subvert any unnecessary delays in the processing of this sorely needed legislation. The Chairperson remains convinced that the issues raised by civil society, including the Democratic Alliance, relating to a lack of clarity on the funding model of the public mandate of the SABC, time limits on the President on the appointment of the SABC Board, the creation of a subsidiary Commercial Company and Board and the potential “lack of independence” in the appointment of the subsidiary Commercial Company, were not insurmountable and could have been remedied through an amendment by the committee. Rule 286 of the National Assembly Rules explicitly confers authority on parliamentary committees to amend or, where necessary, redraft bills before them. Thus, the Chairperson strongly believes that an attempt to withdraw this Bill from Parliament will delay and derail the transformative and developmental interventions the government has been pursuing in state institutions.

Ms Diko said that the committee has been at pains to put in place a fast-tracked process to finalise the SABC Bill, the absence of which has created a serious legislative vacuum that has dire consequences. “To this end, the government and even the committee itself had initiated various engagements with stakeholders on the possible funding model for the public mandate of the SABC – the most substantive and urgent of the concerns raised against the Bill.” Another of the major concerns coming from the public participation process was the need for the speedy finalisation of the Audio and Audio-Visual White Paper, and Ms Diko would like to urge the Minister to prioritise the finalisation of the White Paper before canning a process underway as this has a bearing on the amendment of the Bill.

She further said that the public broadcaster could not be allowed to fail because its demise would spell unmitigated disaster also for SENTECH, the country’s signal distributor, with a ripple effect to over 130 community radio stations, several private broadcasters including commercial radio and TV stations and ICT service providers. Ultimately, the most affected stakeholders would be communities across the country, which rely on public broadcasters to provide them with news and public information that impacts their lives and is delivered in all official languages, including sign language. It is undisputed that SABC is the only broadcaster with the capacity, reach and ability to deliver on this important mandate.

Ms Diko commends the SABC leadership and staff for the immense strides recorded over the last two years, saying that they are a testament to the dedication and patriotism of the hardworking men and women of the public broadcaster, who, despite enormous pressure and financial constraints, were resolute that the show would go on. In the 2023/24 financial year, the SABC has turned the corner on its financial management, achieving an unqualified audit opinion once again after nine years.

“Should the reports of the minister’s decision to withdraw the Bill be true and due to the gravity of the situation at the public broadcaster, we urge the DCDT to accelerate the process of reworking the Bill and reintroduce a new version to Parliament within the current financial year. In the meantime, the committee will invite the minister to indicate how, in the interim, the financial situation at the public broadcaster shall be improved to ensure sustainability until this much-needed legislation is amended and the issues attendant to it are resolved. Failure to reintroduce the Bill timeously will leave individual members of the committee or the committee itself with no option but to entertain introducing a committee or Private Members’ Bill in the best interest of the SABC for consideration by Parliament,” said Ms Diko.