The South African Screen Federation (SASFED) is working on a legal action to compel the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to monitor public broadcaster SABC’s compliance with local content quotas, and for failing to provide a single report as required by regulations in this regard.
SASFED research has indicated a significant lack of compliance in this regard, says newly elected SASFED vice chair Marc Schwinges. "This failure on the part of ICASA’s Monitoring and Compliance unit has resulted in a substantial loss to the television production industry when it can least afford it."
ICASA has also been accused of inefficiency and failing to regulate in the public interest by SOS: Supporting Public Broadcasting and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA). Its independence from the state is regularly questioned.
On 27 October SASFED, the industry federation body for nine organisations within the local film and television industry, sent letters to ICASA on another matter Ð the apparent breach by SABC and pay-TV operators M-Net and On Digital Media (ODM) of Clause 3(a)(iii) of the Regulations on Commissioning of Independently Produced South African Programming 2009.
Read more in the January 2011 issue of Screen Africa
