Claims that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) had given African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma too much air time have been dismissed by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA), it said on Friday.
The BCCSA found that since an election date was not yet proclaimed, the rules on equitable time division were not yet applicable.
On October 15, the SABC conducted a 45-minute interview with Zuma, between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.
In reaction complaints were made by the Inkatha Freedom Party and the National Democratic Convention, and two members of the public.
”The core of the complaints was that it was unfair of the SABC to have granted Mr Zuma an hour-long slot during prime evening time to address problems within the ANC and, thereafter, to address policy issues of the ANC.
”The complaints are not essentially that the programme itself was unfair, but that time was given to one political party without extending the same privilege to other parties to put forward their policies,” the BCCSA said.
It said that the Broadcasting Code and relevant sanctions did not order that time be granted in a non-election period, except when a person (or a political party) was seriously criticised on a matter of public importance.
”… There had been no criticism levelled during the interview against any other political party; this provision was not triggered, as a result, the complaints were not upheld.” — Sapa