The Public Services Broadcasting (PSB) Bill was heavily criticised in a panel discussion held at Rhodes University on World Press Freedom Day on Monday.
The Public Services Broadcasting (PSB) Bill was heavily criticised in a panel discussion held at Rhodes University on World Press Freedom Day on Monday.
The bill, which was released in October last year, intends to review the Broadcasting Act of 1999. It aims to align the broadcasting system with the developmental goals of South Africa, which would see the media playing a role in supporting national interests, unity and stability.
Highway Africa Chair of Media and Information Society, Prof Jane Duncan shared her concerns about the bill, seeing the alignment with developmental goals as an excuse to suppress media freedom.
“The bill is not going to promote independent journalism, because anything too hot to handle will be shelved.”
Duncan mentioned the example of the controversial Thabo Mbeki interview which was pulled at the last minute, and was never aired in its original form.
Another aspect of the bill is to establish a PSB fund for the SABC. This entails abolishing television licence fees and introducing a system where fees are deducted from the citizens’ taxes.
“Why should we fund the public broadcaster when it has been mismanaging money?” asked Duncan. This is in light of the SABC’s recent financial crisis.
South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) member, Raymond Louw, argued that the bill was drawn up with a lack of consultation.
Louw explained the Department of Communication did not fully publicise the bill even after it was published in the Government Gazette which he said no-one ever reads.
He then said, “When it comes to introducing legislation, they only consult their cronies, which is a farce. It was so rushed that it’s full of errors.”
Zola Yeye, SABC Eastern Cape regional manager disagreed on some of the points raised by the other panelists. “In essence the bill went around.
Facebook, Internet and Twitter all played a rolein informing citizens about the bill.” On this point, an audience member raised his concern about the majority of the country lacking internet access.
Yeye replied to these concerns by acknowledging the inequalities in the country and accessibility issues, but also said that there is evidence that the Department of Communication did at least try to engage with citizens.
Dean of Humanities and chair for the evening’s proceedings, Prof Fred Hendricks, summarised the core of the debate by asking if the public broadcaster should be tied to the apron strings of the state, or if it should be independent. The bill will be brought before Parliament later this year.
