It is clear that there are internal divisions within the ANC about how the current problems at the SABC should be dealt with, Dr. Pieter Mulder, FF Plus leader, said.
This was revealed after Mr. Gwede Mantashe, the secretary general of the ANC recently spoke about the SABC’s problems and commented that intervention is urgently needed. Following this, ANC members of the parliamentary portfolio committee on communications agreed during a previous meeting that a proper investigation into the SABC’s problems was needed.
At today’s portfolio committee meeting, the minister defended all the decisions of the SABC board, and Mr. Hlaudi Motsoaneng and the ANC members of the committee turned around and declared that an investigation was not necessary.
According to Dr. Mulder, the response to the FF Plus’ question on the role of the SABC was also unsatisfactory. Dr. Mulder wanted to know whether the SABC was a government broadcaster or a public broadcaster.
Dr. Mulder says from the resignation of eight journalists at the SABC and the firing of Mr. Jimmi Matthews it is clear that there a lot of censure at the SABC’s news services in favour of the government.
According to Dr. Mulder, all South Africans are obligated to pay license fees and the Broadcasting Act clearly spells out that the SABC has to be a public broadcaster in the interest of all South Africa’s people, and not a government broadcaster in the interest of the ANC.
“There should be an investigation into the role of and financing of the SABC to determine the precise role and place of the SABC. It is clear that members of the board and management of the SABC have misunderstood their role.
“The SABC does not belong to the SABC Board or the minister of communications or Hlaudi Motsoaneng, but to all the people of South Africa,” Dr. Mulder said.
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