Mail & Guardian reporter
The portfolio committee on communications conducted public hearings on the Media Diversity and Development Agency (MDDA) Bill earlier this week to factor final submissions from a variety of stakeholders, including media companies, advertisers and NGOs.
The Bill is the product of three years of consultation, research and comparative study to establish an independent agency that is rooted in partnerships between the government, the media industry and the community media sector to provide funding and capacity-building for small publications and community media.
The consultations and earlier public hearings around the draft position paper published in November 2000 led to some changes with regard to funding. The Government Communication and Information System’s (GCIS) statement says: ”The proposed levy on advertising expenditure has given way to a voluntary approach. The target was lowered to R250-million over five years or R50-million a year.”
Last Saturday the National Community Radio Forum convened a workshop for its submission to the public hearings. In a statement released earlier in the week the forum said: ”The Bill is a culmination of many struggles for the support of development communications by the government and the private media industry.
”In order for South Africa to deepen its democracy, and ensure that the majority of South Africans have access to information … support to community radio is of critical importance. It is in this context that community radio activists welcome the MDDA Bill, although it falls short in two areas:
”The powers granted to the minister responsible for the GCIS are excessive and should be cut. The minister has a role to develop broad guidelines and not micro-manage the Board of the MDDA as the Bill suggests.
”Commercial media [are] bound to support the MDDA, and this support should not come with strings attached. While contributions are made, they should not be equal to seats on the board of the MDDA.”
The forum agreed on the following principles that should underpin a sustainable MDDA:
The MDDA should exist to promote a media sector that is socialised, and strive for the development and democratic ideals of the country.
The MDDA has to be independent of the government and other vested interests.
”Media that have benefited from the history of our country, and new media that have flourished, as part of the new dispensation should contribute to the development of media in historically disadvantaged areas,” the forum said. ”Therefore, the funding contribution of commercial media should be legislated.
”The MDDA should take a holistic approach to support media. This entails support of various aspects of the needs, including infrastructure, services, equipment and capacity building.”
ENDS