PSB Bill must guarantee community media editorial independence - MDDA

“This proposal will facilitate development of communication strategies by municipalities that will lead to monies spent on community media as opposed to an audience irrelevant to the targeted communication,” Lumko Mtimde, MDDA CEO, said yesterday, 21 January 2010, quoting from his organisation's final submissions on the PSB Bill.

“It will also encourage municipalities to provide accommodation for community broadcasting services to use facilities that are in most cases available in such municipalities, without interfering with the running of the services.”

Fear that municipalities will take advantage

However, Mtimde insisted that a community broadcaster's relationship with a given municipality should in any way amount to compromising that broadcaster's independence.

Such a partnership would for instance extend to other public institutions like schools, Thusong Services Centre, and many more, he added.

Many observers fear that municipalities may take advantage of their logistical and financial support to community broadcasters to manipulate or interfere in the editorial components, or even censure news and current affairs deemed ‘unfriendly' to municipality authorities.

South Africa has 274 municipalities, and it is believed that problems such as inadequate skills to run municipal entities, power struggles, corruption and nepotism, amongst others, are hampering service delivery, leading to street protests and violence.

No interference allowed from municipalities

Mtimde said community broadcasting has to partner with organs of civil society (community-based organisations, non-governmental organisations and others) in its operations, including ownership and control mechanisms (membership), selection and provisioning of programming, in order for it to remain relevant to the mission it was set for.

“The strength of this partnership contributes to sustainability and community-driven service.

“With editorial independence enshrined in the broadcasting service and ownership and control enshrined in community hands, no interference will then be allowed from municipalities.”

Furthermore, the MDDA wonders why the Bill does not repeal section 52 of the Electronic Communications Act (ECA), which prohibits granting of a broadcast service licensee to any party, movement, organisation, body, or alliance, which is of a party-political nature.

Bill must provide for SABC freedom of expression

The Bill does not also repeal section 50 of the ECA, which provides for who should control and own a community broadcasting service, the MDDA said.

The organisation also called on the Bill to provide that the SABC, in pursuit of its objectives and in the exercise of its powers, enjoys freedom of expression and editorial, journalistic, creative and programming independence as enshrined in the Constitution.

“The Agency would suggest that this provision be emphatically stated also in the Bill,” Mtimde said.

As for the PSB Fund, which will reportedly ensure broadcasters' greater financial sustainability, the MDDA suggests that it should be allocated in the following manner: SABC 50%, community broadcasting 20%, content development and independent producers 20%, signal distribution 5%, and 5% for other.

Meanwhile, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) has in its final submissions on the PSB Bill, called for the establishment of a channel that is geared towards broadcasting school curriculum-related content.

NYDA chairperson Andile Lungisa said: “The programmes should no longer be flighted during school hours when those that are meant to access them are unable to view them, deeming the otherwise useful information redundant.”