While the president dithers over the shortlist of IBA councillors, the IBA old guard continues to run the show. JACQUIE GOLDING-DUFFY reports
PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela’s reluctance to approve the appointment of a new Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) council threatens to derail some of the regulator`s activities. The list of five new councillors, nominated following public hearings, has been sitting with the president since June. His approval, previously viewed as a formality, is needed before the councillors can take up their posts.
However, Mandela has still to rubberstamp the shortlist. IBA sources claim that Mandela has rejected the names, citing this as a reason for the delay.
His office this week declined to say whether he opposed any of the nominees, but IBA and parliamentary insiders believe he may block the appointments because he may be unhappy with the lack of skills of some of the candidates. Others argue that too many of the nominees are white.
The names of the nominees were sent by the portfolio committee on communications to the communications ministry and then the president for ratification. “As a matter of practice, the president will liaise with the [communications] committee if there is a problem before going public,” said presidential spokesman Parks Mankahlana. He said comment will be reserved until the successful candidates are informed.
Portfolio committee chair Sam Moeti says he has heard nothing from the president nor the ministry regarding the nominees.
Some IBA sources argue that the president’s dithering will jeopardise the regulator’s role as the new candidates for council only have six months to complete the task of, among others, licensing more radio stations and issuing a private television licence by the year’s end. Also, the IBA is currently being managed by the former councillors and co-chairs who have been accused of financial irregularities and who jointly resigned from the authority earlier this year.
The current councillors are also unable to hold the new councillors to a fixed timetable when they take up their seats, making it impossible for dates to be fixed and hearings to be planned for the rest of the year.
Continuity is also an issue. The delay in accepting the nominees is not conducive to the IBA having a consistent team of councillors who are aware of the workings of the regulator, said one insider.
The new councillors will therefore begin a task such as licensing but will leave most of their task unfinished as the time allocated to them expires at year-end.
Meanwhile the Independent Producers’ Organisation of South Africa (IPO) has rejected the list, sending a letter to the president’s office and the ministry outlining the concerns of its members – the bulk of the country’s independent producers.
IPO chair Mfundi Vundla says he is perturbed by the manner in which the nominees were selected.
The public hearings, he says, were farcical, as major stakeholders, such as the IPO, were not informed of the dates set aside for the hearings despite several attempts to reach the portfolio committee.
“My understanding of a public hearing is that I, as a major stakeholder, am able to ask a question of any of the candidates via an MP. As independent producers, we felt we had unique expertise which we could bring to the hearing in order to contribute towards making an informed selection of people. This did not happen. “
Vundla says key people such as former Comtask convener Mandla Langa, former SABC board member Ruth Tomaselli and former communications ministry adviser Willie Currie were omitted from the final list submitted to Mandela.
The current list, he says, consists of people who do not have the breadth of skills needed to deal with the “nuts and bolts of broadcasting nor do they have a vision for the future of broadcasting. The list of five nominees submitted for Mandela’s approval are Libby Lloyd from the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism, SABC executive responsible for strategic planning Solly Mokoetle, Dr Roy Williams from the University of the North-West and former councillors Advocate Luthando Mkumatela and Felleng Sekha.
The IPO is particularly scathing of Mkumatela and Sekha. At the IBA’s hearing regarding M-Net’s two-hour open time, the IPO says Mkumatela abstained from voting on the issue, while Sekha didn’t even attend the hearing. “This makes one wonder about these two councillors making the list of nominees,” says Vula.
l IBA finances are also in disarray. The regulator is patiently waiting for the communications ministry to release funds that will enable the authority to carry out its duties. An application for more funds was sent to the ministry by the IBA.
Should the minister reject the IBA’s request for funds, the regulator may have to cut back on some of its duties or even consider retrenchments. It also recently advertised two vacancies, one for a new finance head and a financial accountant, but it is unclear where the IBA will get the funds for these positions.
The nominees for council and the request for funds are up in the air.