FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION NEWS FROM SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 1-7 1997

BROADCASTING - The Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Broadcasting, Jay Naidoo, on August 4 launched an ambitious 12-month process that would culminate in the enactment of new laws affecting the broadcasting industry in South Africa. Naidoo said the aim of the process would be to create a coherent framework within which to define public, private and commercial broadcasting and would involve a review of existing legislation. An important feature of the process will be consultation. A special stakeholders committee, made-up of among others representatives from the public broadcaster, independent broadcasters, trade unions and other civil society bodies, will be responsible for the policy formulation process, while a technical task team of experts from Australia, Germany, Canada and the International Telecommunications Union, will also be part of the process. The first deadline in the policy process will be in October when a Green Paper on broadcasting will be presented to cabinet. A White Paper on broadcasting is expected in January next year, while new laws will be enacted by the middle of next year. Among the issues Naidoo said would be looked at during this process would be: diversity in media ownership, the promotion of journalism in areas such as investigative journalism and technology reporting, competition in the signal distribution sector, a policy for satellite, terrestrial, and Internet communication, the development and promotion of local content, the effects of competition on the public broadcaster, and the effect of new legislation on broadcasting standards. Naidoo confirmed that regulation of broadcasting would remain in the hands of an independent body  such as the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and that government would be responsible only for policy. He confirmed also that the current work of the IBA and the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (SATRA) would not be affected by the process.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION - The South African Rugby Football Union on August 5 gave a government task team investigating alleged irregularities in the sport an ultimatum to present any evidence or allegations or face court action. Sarfu said if this was not done by August 15 the union would obtain a court order to force the Ministry of Sport to make the information available. A spokesperson for SARFU said: "It is unconstitutional to leave SARFU under this cloud of suspicion without presenting any evidence of maladministration. We have not had any contact with the task team, and it has therefore become necessary to oblige them to present information to us". Earlier this year, the head of SARFU, Louis Luyt, won a high court application to force the Ministry to hand over a dossier containing allegations against him. The ministry had previously refused to hand over the dossier, arguing that the contents should remain under wraps until the allegations had been checked.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION - The Minister of Safety and Security, Sydney Mufamadi, on August 6 indicated that he would put pressure on the police to explain why documents were missing relating to an alleged miscarriage of justice in the conviction of three African National Congress (ANC) members for murder three years ago. The three, known as the "Eikenhof Three", were jailed for the murder in 1993 of a woman and two school children in Eikenhof, south of Johannesburg. Two of them were initially given death sentences but these were commuted to life, while one of them was serving a 17-year sentence. Last month, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) claimed responsibility for the murder and said the three ANC men were innocent. The ANC intends to file for a re-trial as a matter of urgency. Mufamadi said he had summoned the head of the police priority crimes unit to his office to demand the documents relating to the investigation, but not all the documents were handed over. He said he was not happy with the explanation for the non-availability of the documents, adding that he hoped the matter would be given rigorous attention by the investigators.

INDEPENDENT BROADCASTING - The last of the six former South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) regional stations, Radio Jacaranda in the Guateng Province, has been sold more than six months after the five other stations were sold. Jacaranda was sold to the Newshelf 71 consortium.  The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) initially awarded the licence to Newshelf late last year, but the decision was successfully contested in the High Court by Naledi consortium, the other group bidding for the station. The IBA’s decision was set aside on grounds that the authority was not quorate at the time it took its decision. In its papers, Naledi also argued that the decision was invalid since Newshelf was in breach of foreign ownership regulations in broadcasting as a result of the its foreign partner, European Development International. It was found that EDI had more than the stipulated 20% maximum foreign stake in the station. However, subsequent to the High Court setting aside the decision on Radio Jacaranda, the two groups joined forces and Naledi was offered a stake in Newshelf. As a result, the newly constituted Newshelf submitted the only application for the station’s licence. The decision to sell the six SABC radio stations was taken following a recommendation in this regard to parliament by the IBA.

MEDIA DIVERSITY - New African Investments Ltd (NAIL), a black-owned investment company, will on September 30 take full control of the country’s largest daily newspaper, the Sowetan. This followed the announcement on August 6 that NAIL had acquired 95% of Sowetan through the acquisition of the remaining 43,5% stake in the paper, which was held by  publishing group Independent Newspapers. Announcing the move, Nail deputy chairman Dikgang Moseneke gave the assurance that the Sowetan would retain editorial independence, that employees rights would be protected and no retrenchments or significant changes were expected. The Sowetan newspaper was unbundled from the Argus Group (now Independent) in 1994 and Nail took a controlling 52,5% interest in New Africa Publications (NAP), the new company set up as a holding vehicle for the Sowetan and the New Nation. In late May, NAP announced that it was pulling the plug on New Nation following consistent loses - a move that was widely mourned as a blow to media diversity in South Africa.

OPEN GOVERNMENT - Parliament on August 6 announced the appointment of Fazela Mohamed as the Registrar of Members Interests. Mohamed will be in charge of and responsible for compiling the records of the financial interests of Members of Parliament (MP). In terms of a statutory Code of Conduct governing MPs, they are required to disclose all their outside financial interests - including shares, directorships, gifts of more than R350 as well as any extra employment - in a register of Members’ Interests. The appointment of Mohamed will make it easier for the public to gain access to the record of these declared financial interests. At a cost of R1 the public can gain access and copy the records, or they can peruse it free of charge at Parliament. The public will also be entitled to lodge complaints in the event of the non-disclosure of certain interests, which will then be investigated by the Parliamentary joint committee on members’ interests.

ENDS