Date: 07 May 2002

ANC accuses SABC of not meeting its mandate

South Africa’s ruling party the African National Congress (ANC) has accused the public broadcaster the South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) for failing meet its mandate.

According to a report in the Business Day newspaper of May 7, 2002 the ruling party will tell the broadcaster today that it was biased towards entertainment, and a balance was required between education, information and entertainment and that more African languages should used.

ANC, communications committee chairperson Nat Kekana says, “We would like to see more current affairs programmes in all languages so that the SABC becomes a platform for citizens to participate in discussions about their lives. The SABC, we believe is falling short of its mandate as a public broadcaster. It should be more developmental in its work.”

According to Kekana the SABC needs to end transformation in order to meet its mandate. The apartheid regime used the SABC as its mouthpiece and the broadcaster engaged in a process of transformation soon after the democratic government was elected in 1994. The ANC said it now believes that the broadcaster should end the process of transformation and start implementing services.

For further information contact: Freedom of Expression Institute Information and Communication Officer Scotch Tagwireyi Phone: 27 11 403 8403 Cell: 27 82 821 0756