The SABC’s cash-strapped election coverage has sparked warnings that voters could be denied access to vital information ahead of the November 4 local government elections, with media watchdog Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) considering legal action over the potential infringement of their rights.
The public broadcaster has been unsuccessful in its requests for more funding for comprehensive coverage of the elections.
MMA said it was unacceptable that the SABC has not received the funds it needs to fulfil its mandate, as this is limiting not just the broadcaster but the IEC and the elections process more broadly.
“It’s a very damaging thing because the consequence means that for the people that rely on SABC for news and information, particularly African language speakers and in areas that aren’t the major urban metropoles, their ability to be informed is going to be significantly limited,” said MMA Director William Bird.
“This is not something that should come as a surprise to government. I'm not sure why they didn't give them the money when they asked for it a year ago. It’s a real problem, and it’s fundamentally unacceptable,” he added.
Bird said the MMA will be releasing an interim report this week on media coverage. “But at the moment, a lot of the coverage is on a level comparable to what was before, but it doesn't mean that they’ve been able to cover all of the town hall discussions and debates all around the country. So those issues are all going to be significantly limited, and that's a very real problem,” he said.
It is not clear whether Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will announce any allocation for the SABC during his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement on Wednesday - exactly two weeks before the November 4 election date.
Bird said South Africans’ rights were being limited and that his organisation was looking at a potential course of action, including a potential court challenge.
Bird revealed that he would be meeting SABC executives this week, because they need the SABC to make the same argument; otherwise, the MMA’s intended course of action was “unlikely to fly”.
A permanent solution, however, would be a new funding model for the SABC, as the current one has not been updated in over 30 years, he said.
While SABC managers have told parliament they were confident of delivering successful coverage of the elections, although it may be scaled down due to financial constraints, some political parties claim they have been feeling the negative impact of the broadcaster’s limited resources in how it has covered the election campaigns.
“It definitely has been our concern,” said EFF MP and spokesperson Sixolishe Gcilishe on Sunday.
Gcilishe, who also serves in the National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Communications, said she had previously asked the SABC whether it would manage to cover the elections without the extra funding.
“This was also informed by the fact that the EFF, after the proclamation of the elections, had three events addressed by our mayoral candidates, and they (SABC) couldn’t even make an excuse because all these events were in Gauteng.
“But because we know that they don't have money, and have written to the Minister of Communications to say they want R120m, we ask how it is going to affect us as political organisations?”
Gcilishe said she was not satisfied with the broadcaster’s response that it would manage to do what it can with what it had.
ActionSA’s Michael Beaumont also expressed dissatisfaction, stating that a large amount of airtime was given to commissions of inquiry like the Madlanga Commission, and to cabinet ministers. He said political parties, especially those that are not part of the Government of National Unity (GNU), had to scramble for what was left.
“To try and get a camera to go to anything that isn't part of the GNU is almost impossible. That's been something really unfair. He too proposed a permanent solution to address the SABC’s funding problems, adding that the broadcaster should be allocated more money during an election year.
Afrika Mayibuye Movement’s Sydney Baloyi said that, as the SABC serves a purpose that no other broadcaster serves, it should be able to uphold the rights of all the people by giving sufficient coverage to a process like the elections and across all parties. It therefore should be capacitated to deliver on its mandate, Baloyi said.
Responding to a parliamentary question last week, Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi said the SABC initially identified an additional funding requirement of R120m for its coverage of the local government elections.
But the figure was subsequently revised to R495m, comprising approximately R120m for broadcasting operations and R375m for related infrastructure.
Malatsi said having recognised the importance of the SABC’s election-coverage obligations, he engaged directly with President Cyril Ramaphosa and Godongwana regarding the SABC's funding requirements.
“Following those engagements, it became clear that further work was required to substantiate the SABC’s funding needs, including the cost of delivering its public broadcasting mandate and the principal cost drivers underlying those requirements.
“I accordingly requested the SABC to provide detailed information on the costing of its public broadcasting mandate, the revenue attributable to its various mandate obligations, the financial consequences of compliance with those obligations, and the assumptions and evidence underpinning its forecasts.”
Malatsi said his department had also pursued additional funding through the applicable government budgetary processes, although earlier submissions did not result in additional funding being allocated.
Malatsi said his department has undertaken a process to develop a revised, sustainable funding model for the SABC.
andisiwe.makinana@nationalmg.co.za