IN THE SPOTLIGHT: SABC BILL

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: SABC BILL

• 31 December 2024
• In the Spotlight
• SA Legal Academy

There has been no official statement on the status of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Soc Ltd Bill since 11 November 2024, when Communications & Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi announced his decision to withdraw it from Parliament.

As SA Legal Academy reported at the time, on 13 November 2024 – during a media briefing on Cabinet’s then most recent meetings – Minister in the Presidency Khumbutso Ntshavenhi told journalists that no Bill tabled by a member of the executive may be withdrawn without Cabinet’s prior permission (Eye Witness News). The matter was expected to have been considered at Cabinet’s next meeting, which took place on 4 December 2024. However, there is no reference to the Bill in the official media statement on that meeting. Neither did Minister Ntshavenhi mention it during her media briefing – at least, as far as can be ascertained.

As has been widely reported, the Bill’s overarching objectives are to provide for:

• regulating the SAB’s ‘continued existence’
• its ‘proper governance’, and
• a reformed ‘funding model’ with an appropriately revised TV licensing system.

According to parliamentary papers circulated on 13 December 2024, the Bill is still before the National Assembly Committee on Communications & Digital Technologies and, as such, is still featured on the Parliamentary Monitoring Group’s (PMG’s) website list of Bills currently before Parliament.

Against that backdrop, PMG has reported that – during a meeting of the National Assembly committee on 19 November, 2024 – Minister Malatsi told members that:

• although National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza had acknowledged his letter advising her of his decision to withdraw the Bill, in her response the Speaker had:
  • drawn attention to the importance of recognising work already done by Parliament on the Bill, and
  • had neither endorsed his decision nor directed the committee accordingly.

According to the PMG report, at the time the Minister has not rescinded his letter to the Speaker and apparently had no intention of doing so. The process he had followed had been in line with parliamentary rules on withdrawing a Bill, and his intention had never been to offend the committee or its chairperson.

With all that in mind, pending clarity on the way forward, Malatsi proposed that:

• his department should finalise its work in developing an ‘audio and audio-visual policy’ foundation on which a workable financial model for the SABC could be built, and that meanwhile
• the department and the committee could:
  • identify and engage on issues of primary concern, and
  • agree on a timeline for reintroducing a revised Bill reflecting the changes deemed necessary.

Tabled in October 2023, the Bill was among those that lapsed when Parliament rose for the May 224 elections. However, by then the previous committee had called for and received written submissions, many of which were apparently critical of its contents. The Bill was revived in July 2024.

• Bill
• parliamentary papers confirming that the Bill is still before Parliament
• SA Legal Academy 13 November 2024 report
• statement on 4 December 2024 Cabinet meeting

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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