The Save Our SABC Coalition (SOS) met with the Deputy Minister of Communications, Roy Padayachie and Deputy Director General for Finance and ICT Development, Harry Mathabathe at the Department of Communications in Pretoria on 14 April.
SOS was established in June 2008 to mobilize civil society organizations and media interest groups to be part of a campaign to identify and implement options to deal with the crisis affecting the SABC management and the board.
The SOS was represented by Kate Skinner (SOS Coordinator), Patrick Craven (COSATU), Vulture Ntuluki (Communications Workers Union), Rehad Desai (SASFED), Jane Duncan (FXI) and Siphiwe Segodi (FXN).
The SOS coordinator, Kate Skinner presented a detailed document which outlined the Coalition’s understanding of the roots of the crisis and the way forward. The document stated the immediate challenges related to the SABC Board and that the financial crisis was a symptom of the breakdown in leadership at the SABC.
The SOS referred to issues which had played a role or were currently impacting on the crisis within the SABC. Among the SABC issues named were the banning of a documentary critical of Mbeki, the blacklisting of commentators critical of government, allegations of fraud and corruption within the SABC, the undermining of the independent production sector and the exodus of experienced journalists. The crisis was aggravated by the appointment of the present Board of SABC which according to SOS was legally flawed from the beginning.
In the medium to long term new legislation needed to be drafted, according to the SOS. It was felt that new legislation would be able to address the vision and mission of the SABC (Charter issues), legal structure, governance and oversight structures, and finances.
Union members attending the meeting addressed the importance of saving jobs at the SABC and the need to avoid the route of retrenchments to solve the SABC’s financial woes.
The Deputy Minister expressed significant interest in the suggestions contained in SOS’s civil society discussion document. In particular he was interested in SOS’s ideas on the SABC’s Charter. Jane Duncan suggested that it would be important to do a roadshow to get public buy-in to a new vision for the SABC. Either the Department of Communications or the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications could spearhead this initiative.
Some discussion was held about the finances of the SABC and some of the initial models that SOS has been developing.
“We however stated that this was only the beginning of the discussion and that a significant amount of research still needed to be done,’ reports Skinner.
In terms of a way forward the Deputy Minister outlined the following three stages:
- The immediate term – The need to sort out the SABC’s Board and finances
- The short to medium term – Working on the policy and legislation
- The medium term – the process of law making
The Deputy Minister said that he felt that it would be beneficial to develop a partnership with SOS in terms of all three stages. SOS members agreed to hold discussions with broader membership to look at what a partnership with the Department might look like. SOS has promised to come back to the Deputy Minister with proposals.
