The Portfolio Committee on Communications welcomes the progress made by the department to restructure and restore itself. In the beginning of the fifth democratic administration, the Department of Communications was divided into two, in which a new Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services was announced by the President. It is against this backdrop that the department, through Minister Faith Muthambi, appeared before the Committee yesterday, 11 November 2014 to report on the progress made in restructuring itself as a standalone department.
Committee Chairperson, Ms Joyce Moloi-Moropa, reiterated that the department needs to broaden the scope of its Information and Communication Technology division as raised by the Auditor-General in the 2013/14 annual report.
Furthermore, Ms Moloi-Moropa said the department needs to come back to the Committee to report on its progress on integrating the Film and Publication Board (FPB) from the Department of Home Affairs. “It is our considered view that you have made a significant progress thus far, but the Committee still needs to see how effectively you are dealing with the integration of the FPB,” Ms Moloi-Moropa said. She further reiterated that the Committee will request a joint meeting together with the Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services in order to assess the state of affairs in the two departments.
On the other hand, the Committee also received a report from the minister on the progress made to establish the South African Broadcasting Production Advisory Board (Sabpab) as the per Section 38 of the Broadcasting Act (Act 4 of 1999), as amended in 2002 and 2009. According to Ms Muthambi, a notice has been published to invite members of the public to nominate people to serve on the board, after which she will establish a committee that will recommend names that can be appointed.
Once appointed, the Sabpab will be required to discharge a number of responsibilities including creating a highly competitive content industry that has a strong export potential in accordance with the National Industry Policy Framework, use content development as a vehicle to foster regional integration, position the country as a regional content hub and enhance the value of Public Sector Information.
In addition, the Committee resolved that Sabpab should put emphasis on the broadcasting of the work that is produced from the African continent and South Africa in the main.
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