SOS Coalition alarmed; SAFA finds way forward with SABC

The coalition believes there is a possibility that the SABC board may again collapse and that the ongoing challenges faced by the SABC make it urgent that the role of the oversight structures is reviewed, as well the handling of the various crises at the broadcaster.

Amend articles of association

According to a press statement from the coalition, newspaper reports over the weekend and Monday morning stated that board members have been asking minister of communications Siphiwe Nyanda to amend the SABC's articles of association so that an acting CEO can be chosen from outside the organisation. At the moment, the acting CEO is Robin Nicholson, the current CFO. Previously newspapers had quoted the minister as stating that he was concerned about the appointment of Nicholson.

While SOS does not hold any particular brief for Nicholson, the coalition believes that the decision to review the articles of association ostensibly to allow for the appointment of an external candidate is flawed on a number of grounds.

1. The coalition believes that the reversal of the board's initial decision to appoint Nicholson is creating further instability at the SABC, a "situation the institution can ill afford".

2. It gives the impression that the board did not consider the impact of this reported latest decision but rather responded to shareholder pressure (in contravention of corporate governance principles). If it did, says the coalition, it calls into question whether or not board members sufficiently applied their minds when taking the initial decision.

3. Although the coalition believe that the articles of association should be reviewed to bring them in line with constitutional principles and the new Company Act and King Codes among others, it is concerned that the latest board proposal seems to indicate a piecemeal approach to the articles, rather than the "necessary thorough, open and comprehensive review clearly required.The impression that is being created is that these revisions are haphazard and being driven by outside pressures rather than genuine inside requirements. We fear this will bring the SABC's reputation into further disrepute."
   

Prevent ministerial intervention

SOS believes that the articles need to strengthen the SABC's institutional autonomy so as to prevent ministerial intervention in the SABC's operations, "a key safeguard for editorial and programming independence".

Further, SOS believes that this should be part of a broader review of broadcasting policy and legislation in the country.

Finally, the coalition emphasises that it believes that these recent problems with the board are all symptoms of a deeper malaise, caused by a failure of oversight by Parliament and appropriate oversight by the executive - which is ultimately affecting audiences' right to be informed.

Recap the context

To recap the context: (further) crises first emerged close to five months ago in May this year, when the board called on Parliament to consider an apparent breach of the law by some members in unilaterally appointing a head of news.

"These issues have yet to be discussed in Parliament, though the Portfolio Committee is saying that it will resume a public hearing on the matters on 19 October 2010. This is long overdue and at least three board members have resigned over the period reportedly due to the lack of decisive oversight and leadership. According to media reports others are considering resigning as well," continues the SOS statement.

"The lack of clear oversight is further evidenced by the fact that Parliament has yet to initiate a process to replace resigned board members. Board member Barbara Masekela resigned in July 2010 and Magatho Mello in early August. Members have a three-month notice period in which Parliament is mandated to replace them. It appears that Ms. Masekela's notice period is almost over."

Require a concerted effort

According to the coalition, it is clear from a range of reports (including the SABC's annual reports, the auditor general report and others) that the crisis facing the SABC will require a concerted effort to resolve.

"A board can only deliver on this and ensure audiences can have access to meaningful content if they are given the necessary support to act decisively and then held accountable for meeting their mandate."

The SOS Coalition represents a number of trade unions, including COSATU, COSATU affiliates CWU and CWUSA, FEDUSA and BEMAWU; independent film and TV production sector organisations including the South African Screen Federation (SASFED); a host of NGOs and CBOs including the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), Media Monitoring Africa (MMA), and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-SA); and a number of academics and freedom of expression activists. For more, go to www.supportpublicbroadcasting.co.za and follow @sos_za on Twitter.

Failure to broadcast Bafana match

Meanwhile, the SABC and SAFA, led respectively by Nicholson and SAFA president Kirsten Nematandani, discussed the failure of the SABC to broadcast the Bafana Bafana vs Sierra Leone on its TV and radio platforms on Sunday 10 October. The main reasons were identified as the late acquisition of rights and lack of broadcast partners with production capacity.

As a way forward, the SAFA and the SABC have agreed that:

• SAFA and SABC need to work together to ensure that rights are secured in time for games that are outside South Africa
  
• SABC agreed to structure a relationship with a production entity with broadcast capability to produce matches in the West African Region
  
• Both parties agreed to strengthen teams that meet on a fortnightly basis from both sides in order to strengthen communication between the two organisations
  
• There must be a joint pre-inspection team prior to games, be they local or outside South Africa
  
• Prior to the games, there must be an advanced team that will profile the country that the game will be played at
  
• The audiences will be informed in time as to whether the games will be broadcast or not, and
  
• The executive teams from both parties will meet on a continuous basis to review operations and to monitor the progress on the issues agreed on.

The issue of the resumption of negotiations prior to the end of the current contract was also discussed. Both parties agreed that the two CEOs must meet to thrash out the time frames for negotiations.

The SABC and SAFA also apologise to the South African public, the sponsors, the advertisers and all the stakeholders affected by the non-broadcast of the match.