Sanef reacts to the Icasa-NCRF community radio matter

Image credit: Israa Ali on Unsplash.

The National Community Radio Forum (NCRF) had first brought the issue to light, claiming that the communications authority had closed 43 stations – which Icasa then refuted, saying that it had identified and closed 29 stations that had not complied with broadcasting regulations.

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Be more transparent

“Sanef believes that compliance is a critical issue and we are happy that Icasa is taking this matter seriously. However, we note that Icasa has not insisted on compliance for a long period. We, therefore, believe that it is important that our regulator assists and enables stations to comply,” said Sanef in a statement.

Moreover, Sanef asked that Icasa offer more support in helping community stations achieve compliance. “Also, we believe that it is important that the requirements are reasonable. We believe that overall, the approach needs to be supportive rather than punitive,” added the editors’ forum.

Sanef also called on Icasa to be more transparent regarding the affected stations. According to Sanef, some stations were issued licences but never went on-air while other stations were taken off-air despite being functional.

The editors’ forum has also offered to participate in meetings between Icasa and the NCRF to resolve the matter.

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Address issues within community media

While addressing the issues within the community radio sector, Sanef also touched on matters facing the broader community media industry – from the Sentech fees for signal distribution to the significant problems in the community print sector.

Sanef has called on Jackson Mthembu, minister in the presidency, to put the restoration of the community media sector on the top of his list.

“We note the under-resourcing of the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), a key support institution in the sector, and the need for government to prioritise the strengthening of this institution. Also, we note the government’s promise to ensure that a greater share of advertising revenue is dedicated to community media. We call on the government to move ahead on its resolution to ensure that 30% of government advertising is set aside for the sector,” said Sanef.

“As Sanef, we believe that the community media sector plays a critical role in society. It generally services marginalised and under-served communities and it plays a critical role in ensuring the free flow of a diversity of news, information and education information across South Africa,” said Sanef in conclusion.