Newly appointed communications minister Yunus Carrim appears to be moving rapidly to deal with some of the longstanding problems afflicting the SABC. Carrim, with his deputy, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, met with the SABC’s board, senior management and trade unions on Wednesday. They also addressed the public broadcaster’s staff.
“The aim was to hear from the SABC what their challenges are, what progress there’s been since the interim board was appointed and how the department [of communications] can offer more assistance to the SABC to become more stable and be far more effective,” Carrim says in a statement.
“The board and management agreed with us that we need to settle outstanding matters related to broadcasting digital migration, including the set-top box issues, so that the project is implemented expeditiously in all our interests,” he says. Digital migration, which involves moving South African broadcasters off analogue systems and onto more efficient digital technology, has been delayed for years, holding up the allocation of radio frequency spectrum to mobile broadband operators.
The SABC and the department of communications have established a joint task team to “finalise the issues agreed to at the meeting and to report back to the next meeting between the minister, deputy minister and SABC to be held in two weeks.”
Democratic Alliance spokesman on communications Marian Shinn recently called on Carrim to “take a firm grip on the executive management of the SABC to ensure that it meets all the criteria laid down by national treasury in terms of the loan guarantee underpinning its turnaround strategy”.
In addition, she called on the “overstaffed” SABC to conduct an independent skills audit to identify “surplus or inappropriately skilled staff and, if necessary, the corporation’s downsizing must be managed without being held to ransom by trades unions”.
Carrim must also ensure that the SABC appoints “appropriately qualified and experienced people without political affiliations or obligations to all posts, in particular those currently staffed in an acting capacity,” Shinn said.
“The SABC serves the education, information and entertainment needs of all South Africans. If it is to regain credibility and lost listeners and viewers, it must be professionally managed by people committed to quality and impartial broadcasting.” — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media
