Following the Minister of Labour Mmembathisi Mdladlana’s move to put the MAPPP-SETA (Media Advertising Printing Publishing Packaging-Sector Education Training Authority) under administration for a period of six months, the SETA’s constituents met in Johannesburg on 8 November to propose a strategy for building a new governance regime at the SETA.
As from 9 October (when the Minister made his announcement), the SETA Board has been suspended and a new Constitution will have to be drafted. Constituents from the cultural industries have lobbied for eight months to get to this stage, citing alleged financial irregularities at the SETA. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) has been appointed as the SETA’s Administrator.
The stakeholders meeting on 8 November was convened by Nicola Rauch of SASFED (South African Screen Federation) and the South African Screenwriting Institute, and chaired by Bongani Dlamini, former head of the Advertising Chamber within the SETA. Both emphasised that the Department of Labour was fully supportive of stakeholder input in suggesting the way forward for the SETA.
Among those present were representatives of the cultural industries such as the Documentary Filmmakers Association and the Commercial Producers Association. Also present were representatives from the Printing & Packaging Chamber, including a member of the former Board.
Benedict Motau, Communications Officer of the MAPPP-SETA was present at the meeting, as was a representative each from the Departments of Labour and Arts & Culture. The Administrator was invited to attend.
The meeting, designed as a consultative process, was centred on redressing the past and dealing with many contentious issues. For instance, while the gathering agreed that a forensic audit into the SETA should be called for, there was disagreement on how far back the audit should delve.
See full report in the January 2008 issue of Screen Africa.
