MDDA to start providing media support by August: Pahad

Presenting the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) budget vote in Parliament, Cape Town, 15 May 2003, Minister in the Presidency, Essop Pahad, pointed out that the MDDA had set a timetable, which should put it in a position to invite applications in need of support, by August.

President Thabo Mbeki appointed the MDDA Board in December, after work had been done to consolidate funding commitments by media owners.

The Board, chaired by Kanyisiwe Mkonza, held its first meeting in January in Johannesburg.

To achieve its objectives, the MDDA is expected to provide support primarily to community as well as to small commercial media projects. Such support includes amongst others, financial, training, capacity building and in-kind assistance.

Said Dr Pahad: 'The GCIS has given all the support required by the MDDA, especially the kind of practical administrative support that is critical in the initial start-up phase. Both the R3 million set aside for the MDDA in the GCIS budget for last year and the R7 million for this financial years have been transferred to the MDDA.'

The private sector is expected to contribute about R10 million annually to the MDDA for the next five years. In addition, resources will also be drawn from existing programmes of the Department of Communication and the Universal Service Agency (USA).

'Compared with the start up of similar agencies, I believe that the MDDA is moving with commendable speed under the guidance of its Chairperson, reflecting the commitment of the Board and stakeholders to meeting the imperatives of media development and diversity in South Africa.

'This diversity is cardinal to our success as a democratic society in which the people are empowered to make their own decisions on matters of the day,' said the minister.

Meanwhile, the minister informed Parliament that the government communication wing, the GCIS, had begun developing a relationship with countries such as Mozambique and Tanzania to assist them in strengthening their communication capacity, while at the same time learning from their experiences.