The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) has issued the following statement congratulating the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) on the appointment of Wandile Tutani as chairperson of its Complaints & Compliance Committee (CCC).
The FXI statement reads: “We raised a number of concerns with the CCC vacancy over the last few months, because we were concerned with what must now surely be a significant backlog of outstanding cases. We will continue to lobby the CCC to hear the SABC Blacklisting Case as contemplated by the ruling in FXI vs Chair CCC, ICASA and SABC – (Case No 2009/51933) as a matter of urgency, since this matter remains central to our attitude towards editorial independence at the SABC. In the review application the South Gauteng High Court ordered the CCC to hear the FXI complaint holding that the CCC did have the jurisdiction to hear the matter.
“Given the current turmoil at the SABC (a call by unions to boycott the SABC, governance and management problems etc.), we feel the hearing of this matter is important in assisting with developing policy positions on key editorial and management issues.
“Hearing this matter will also assist us in making clear determinations on editorial independence in regards to policy and legislation, as part of the Ministerial Policy Review Process.’
