Members of the media, ladies and gentlemen
I would like to welcome you all at this state of the entities briefing today. As you are aware, I have been assigned executive authority and oversight over five entities in the Communications portfolio. These include the Government Communications and Information System (GCIS), The Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), Brand South Africa (BrandSA), Film and Publications Board (FPB) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
It is also important to note that while I remain with executive authority over all five entities, I have delegated some functions and powers to the Deputy Minister of Communications in the following portfolios: the FPB, MDDA and the domestic leg of the BrandSA. This delegated responsibility is important both as a strategic support and capacity in the delivery of our mandate in this portfolio.
You would have also noticed that this week and part of the coming week constitutes an accountability period where departments of government and their entities present their Annual Reports to Parliament. In the Communications sector, both my department and one entity, the DOC and GCIS, have already tabled their Annual Reports. I am glad to report that both departments received clean audits for the financial year 2016/17. The DOC maintained a clean audit for the second consecutive year while the GCIS achieved a clean audit for the fourth consecutive year. The rest of the entities will present in the next few days.
Ladies and Gentlemen I have called this briefing among others to give feedback about the state of these entities but also to give clarity on various issues that the media has been raising about this portfolio over the past few weeks. I will also give feedback on the progress on our policy and legislative program which will include the much anticipated Digital Migration process.
The Films and Publications Amendment Bill 2015
The Film and Publications Act was passed in October 1996. Central to the provisions of the Act is the protection of children and consumers from exposure to harmful and illegal content whilst also continuing to ensure that it remains a criminal offence to use children in the creation of child pornography.
The role of the FPB has previously been distinct as distribution of content that fell within the jurisdiction of FPB was easily identifiable. Films were either distributed via VHS, DVD and in cinema whilst publications were in your pre-packaged magazines and books.
With developments in technology however, much of the content has moved to online streaming or digital platforms. This has left a significant gap in the market. Consumers, and particularly children now can access content that has not been appropriately classified and labelled. This is particularly concerning when referring to adult content, which would be content rated 18 years and above, due to the explicit nature of the content.
The purpose of the Bill therefore is to close the regulatory gap that currently exists in the market. The Bill therefore wishes to extend the current rating system and content regulatory regime to online content, providing services. This would enhance the protection of children and limit consumer confusion.
The Broadcasting Amendment Bill, 2015
Our broadcasting system must reflect the identity and diversity of South Africa, promoting the entire spectrum of culture and religious background, including all official languages. This broadcasting system must therefore be aligned to the democratic values of the Constitution and protect the rights of every citizen. It is against this background, that the Broadcasting Amendment Bill, 2015 was introduced, to ensure the realisation of this vision.
These amendments will mainly lead to a reduction in the number of non-executive directors in the Board, from twelve (12) to nine (9), in order to strengthen the Board and also to streamline its operations. This process will allow for introspection on the size, selection process and tenure of future boards, and is a vital element in ensuring that the SABC is fit for purpose in the unfolding media landscape.
The changes are in line with our vision of ensuring universal access to broadcasting services in South Africa and will also strengthen the SABC and better allow it to fulfil its public broadcasting service mandate.
These changes are consistent with the outcome and recommendations of the Presidential Review Committee on State-Owned Entities. The amendments are currently before parliament and we hope this will be processed soon.
Draft White Paper on the Audio-Visual and Digital Content Policy for SA
The current Draft White Paper on the Audio-visual and Digital Content Policy for South Africa revises the Broadcasting Act 1999 to respond to the new challenges, the overall broadcasting paradigm that is changing and constitutes a decisive step by Government to reflect and respond to the changes brought about by convergence over broadband networks.
It therefore updates the broadcasting policy to, amongst other things, create a fairer environment for traditional broadcasters, video-on-demand providers and video-sharing platforms; promote South African content; promotion of diversity of voices in the media, nation building and social cohesion; propose approaches and strategies to deal with the broadcasting spectrum over the next years; proposes a new approach to protect children, minors, the vulnerable; and limitations on the availability and ability to tackle on/off line harmful material and hate speech better.
This will create and promote the certainty of a fair legal and regulatory environment; and a fair and innovation-friendly Audio-visual and Digital Content market environment. I will shortly be presenting the White Paper to cabinet for approval before we publish it for public comments.
Digital Migration
In March 2015 Cabinet approved the final amendments to the Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy which paved the way for the implementation of digital migration. Cabinet further approved that government should provide free set-top-boxes to the five million poor TV-owning households.
Once the migration process is complete South Africans will have access to Terrestrial Digital Television. The migration will release valuable spectrum which will allow for more channels and more content to be broadcast in the same bandwidth as is currently used by one analogue channel.
The availability of more television channels will lead to more demand for local content which will translate into growth for the local content industry. This will also spur industry growth and lead to job creation. Furthermore, it will result in better quality sound on both radio and visuals on television.
The move also provides us with an opportunity to realise our vision of building a people centred and inclusive information society. The DTT remains a high priority of government. We are determined to meet the deadline of December 2018 despite the challenges that continue to face us such as financial constraints and others.
I have established a Digital Migration Advisory Council which is made of representatives from broadcasters, telecommunication companies, relevant government departments and state owned entities. This council is advising me on the initiatives we need to implement in order to fast track the Broadcasting Digital Migration project. The council is working around the clock to develop a project plan towards December 2018 deadline.
What we have realised is that we need a concerted effort to develop a public awareness campaign for South Africans to go digital. It important for South Africans to understand that those who already have DTSV and OVHD are already migrated to digital. There is also a considerable number of people who already have Integrated Digital Televisions sets (IDTVs), who only need to connect to digital television without needing a set top box. Through this campaign we will be amplifying this message to get as many South Africans migrated as soon as possible.
SABC
Let me address the issue of the SABC Board appointment upfront because it has been making the news in the past few days. Today, I am expecting feedback from SAQA on the process of verification of qualifications for all the candidates submitted for President’s approval. Once received, the information will be handed to the Presidency for processing which should allow the President to effectively exercise his discretion.
I must also indicate that the operations at the SABC are continuing without hindrance and any matter that requires the attention of the Board shall be dealt with in terms of the PFMA which empowers the Chief Executive to act as an accounting officer in the absence of a Board. What remains a priority here is the stability of the institution which means that we must expedite the process of filling vacant executive management posts and sort out the labour relations issues that stifle delivery and contribute negatively to staff morale.
On the financial viability of the institution, I am pleased to report that we have presented a fresh proposal to National Treasury and are now awaiting a response in this regard. Much more work lies ahead in the journey of recovery at the SABC but with greater cooperation and stakeholder support, we will surely achieve the stability and viability of this entity.
MDDA
Through the MDDA we have broadened the media representation. We now have a media landscape that has a 170 community radio stations and 200 community and local newspapers, all broadcasting and publishing in eleven official languages for the benefit of our citizens. The content of this speaks to the realities of these communities.
I want to see MDDA working on media diversity and media development which includes the financial support for the small media houses in radio print or television. Messages that are carried on community radio station carry a lot of content which empowers our people.
The MDDA is the only organisation of this nature in the continent and is primarily focused on ensuring that marginalised communities, women, youth and people in rural areas are able not only to have access to the media but create content in their own right, speak in their voices so that they are able to participate fully in the democratic discourse of this country.
However the entity has had its fair share of problems ranging from governance issues to operational deficiencies. These in turn have impacted on their delivery capacity and the impact that we want in transforming media in South Africa. I am happy to announce that we now have a quorating board and that work has commenced to streamline operations in the entity and to address the outstanding issues affecting staff.
BRAND SA
Brand South Africa’s role as South Africa’s official marketing agency, is to market, position, and present the unique features of the South Africa Nation Brand through integrated and strategic communication, marketing and reputation management programmes.
We are meeting at an important time for the BRANDSA, when they are hosting a strategic platform called Nation Brand Forum which is a strategic platform through which the organisation endeavours to create an open space for engagement with stakeholders in government, business and civil society.
This year’s Nation Brand Forum focuses on the theme - Inspiring Innovation and Business Excellence in the Era of Emerging Markets.
In addition to these sterling efforts, we are working with BRANDSA to identify new market opportunities for South African goods and services abroad. We need to market South Africa as an investment destination, in order to attract Foreign Direct Investment.
We are aware that our country has fallen about 14 times downwards on the recent World Economic Forum Competitive Index. This presents us with a challenge to strengthen our own resolve and efforts in adopting strategies that will return our country to its rightful position in world affairs. We are happy with the continued stability of this institution and its ability to package the Nation Brand product into a viable and sellable commodity both domestically and abroad.
FPB
I have had discussions with the FPB and some of the interventions in the pipeline include accelerating the process for the finalisation of the Films and Publications Amendment Bill, which is currently before Parliament.
We are also keen to resolve the governance and operational issues that continue to bedevil this institution and I am glad to announce that a process is underway to finalise the filling of key executive positions in the FPB so that the entity can return to normalcy.
ICASA
ICASA remains a strategic entity in the achievement of our strategic objective of building a people centred and inclusive information society. We are glad to announce that the two vacant positions of Councillors at ICASA have now been filled. This will enhance the functioning of the council and thus the achievement of our strategic goals at the entity.
Urgent Interventions at ICASA include a need to conduct outreach programme on the issue of data costs. I have asked ICASA to put together a process for public hearings on this matter.
We will continue working with the entity to ensure transparency of data costs and reduction of high data cost and bundle rates for data, which remains a concern for both business and members of the public.
What is key for government is that we assist our communities by reducing the cost to communicate and ICASA has a very important role in this task.
Thank you
Enquiries:
Mava Scott
Cell: 076 095 2359
