Malatsi’s reasons for withdrawing SABC Bill are vague: Cosatu

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says it is concerned that Communications Minister Solly Malatsi does not give a time frame on how long the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Bill will remain withdrawn.

Cosatu is one of the stakeholders that recently made a submission on the SABC Bill.

Malatsi has notified National Assembly Speaker about the withdrawal of the bill. 

One of the objectives of the Bill is create a funding model to ensure the long term financial sustainability of the public broadcaster.

Cosatu Parliamentary Coordinator, Matthew Parks says Malatsi’s reasons given for the withdrawal of the Bill are vague.

Parks says, “The Minister says he is going to withdraw but doesn’t give a clear time frame. Is it six months intervention? Is it a complete overhaul, which could take us two or three years, four years, longer? And the concern is that if they keep delaying dragging these things out, SABC continues to bleed and to struggle to find its feet.”

“We are not sure what are his intentions. So, it’s fairly vague. We don’t know if he is going to retain the provisions in the Bill which says, it’s a public broadcaster. It’s got a developmental mandate. It’s free from interference by politicians of does he have something else in mind,” he adds.

VIDEO:  Malatsi says we need a credible funding model for the SABC:

Civil society organisation, AfriForum has repeated its call saying the Bill failed to address the public broadcaster’s funding needs.

The organisation says the withdrawal of the Bill presents an opportunity for a new direction for the broadcaster.

AfriForum’s spokesperson Ernst van Zyl says, “The context within which AfriForum makes this suggestion, or is making this proposal, is very important. The SABC has been dependent on a state-centric rather than a privatised model now since its existence and now it’s finding itself increasingly in financial woes and that’s why at some point it has to change direction. If things were rosy, and perfect, and only small adjustments were needed, then it might not have come to something as drastic . “-Additional reporting by Bontle Motsoatsoe.

PODCAST: Interview with Van Zyl on SAfm’s First Take: