(Subcommittee) Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) Board: interviews

Meeting report

The Chairperson stated that the Subcommittee was convened according to National Assembly Rules and its purpose was to fill the vacancy on the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) Board.

For each candidate who appeared, the Chairperson informed of the five-minute rule to make introduction. The introduction should include the candidate’s work experience, his academic achievement and why the candidate should be considered for the board. Thereafter Members would asked questions. For each question, the candidate would be given five minutes to respond. This five-minute period included candidate’s response and member’s question. He then introduced members of the Subcommittee to the candidate.
 

Refer to the audio for the responses to the questions.

Ms Nalini Maharaj
Ms P Faku (ANC) expressed her delight and said that the candidate’s CV was inspiring for women. From her CV, Ms Faku could see someone who is driven and motivated. That is a strong characteristic which the Subcommittee is looking for in a board member.

Ms Faku said that MDDA is a public entity that has been doing very well in the past financial years. In light of that, she asked the candidate if she believed that the community broadcasting sector should be competing with commercial public broadcasting and whether it is viable.

Ms Faku asked the candidate to demonstrate her understanding of and views on media diversity and how she planned to further this objective in the digital era.

Mr Z Mbhele (DA) said the mission of the MDDA board is to ensure the future sustainability of MDDA. Everyone recognises the value and importance that it plays in promoting and deepening community broadcasting media. One is cognizant of resource constraints and community broadcasting media’s inability to add to its social value which it could leverage to attract more sponsorships. Bearing that in mind, can the candidate elaborate on the potential opportunities for innovation that she could champion in the MDDA space to maximise its mandate?

Mr T Gumbu (ANC) asked what new elements she would bring to the MDDA board if appointed. He was impressed with the candidate’s CV and commended her vast experience and good qualifications. How would she use her experience and qualifications to contribute to the MDDA?

Ms Z Majozi (IFP) noted the role of local languages and content development in MDDA as well as the COVID-19 national crisis. She asked what the candidate envisaged as MDDA's role going forward.

Ms N Khubheka (ANC) asked the candidate for possible strategies MDDA could implement to increase its funding model for community media. She agreed that the entity was doing well considering the small budget it gets from government. Given the huge task it has in covering rural areas, she asked for strategies to utilise the budget more effectively and to get more funding.

The Chairperson asked the candidate if the current legislation creates sustainability for MDDA. If it does, she needs to provide a reason. If it does not, she should put forward an alternative proposal.

Mr Luzuko Buku
Ms Faku appreciated the candidate’s role in youth advocacy as shown in his CV. She emphasised the importance of having young people participate in the community media space.

In the era of digital transformation, Ms Faku asked how community media can remain relevant and adopt new ways of doing business.

Ms Faku asked how media literacy was important for the equality of citizenship.

Mr Mbhele asked the candidate's view on MDDA's key shortfall from what he would call a strategic gap identification. He asked the candidate to answer the question from a governance outlook – through a high-level strategic lens.

Mr Mbhele asked the candidate what unique value he would bring to the MDDA board in skills, experience and network as the ultimate objective was to ensure the future sustainability of MDDA. He noted the candidate’s fundraising experience and asked the candidate to provide some innovative ideas on resource mobilisation for MDDA and building strategic partnerships.

Mr Gumbu asked what areas in MDDA would be changed based on the candidate’s qualifications and experience if he were appointed to the board.

Mr Gumbu asked for his proposals for MDDA to remain relevant in its financial sustainability.

Ms Majozi asked the candidate to explain how he planned to create a conducive environment for MDDA by tapping into mobile service providers and invite them to work together with MDDA in the community media space.

Ms Majozi asked the candidate what role MDDA played during COVID-19 and to comment on how the agency had responded to the countrywide crisis to date.

Ms Khubheka noted that this was the second time that the candidate had applied for the position.

She asked the candidate how MDDA could overcome the influence of fake news.

Ms Khubheka asked if he believed community media could compete with commercial broadcasters. If not, she asked the candidate to provide a practical solution to that.

Since legislation cannot be changed overnight, the Chairperson asked the candidate to explain his understanding on what needs to be done for MDDA to have a sustainable financial model as community media relies on the entity’s funding.

The Chairperson appreciated the candidate’s inputs and remarked that both the Subcommittee members and the candidate have learnt a lot through this engagement.

Ms Martina Della-Togna
Ms Faku noted the candidate’s past connection and her work at MDDA.

Ms Faku raised the huge amount of debt that community media owes Sentech for signal distribution and noted that the SABC had also complained about high signal distribution costs. She asked how the candidate would navigate this challenge of the high cost for signal distribution and resolve this for MDDA.

Ms Faku noted the pervasive influence of fake news and hate speech in the media space and asked how the candidate planned to lead the agency in the fight against such concerns.

Mr Mbhele asked what the candidate thought MDDA’s strategic gaps were which the board must focus on.

Mr Mbhele asked the candidate to provide insights and ideas to promote financial sustainability, strategies for mobilising resources, and cultivating partnerships to fulfil MDDA’s mandate.

Mr Gumbu asked the candidate to share some of the actions MDDA took during COVID-19 given her experience at MDDA.

Mr Gumbu asked what new elements she would bring to MDDA board if appointed.

Ms Majozi asked how she planned to create a conducive environment for MDDA by tapping into mobile service providers to better fulfil the entity’s mandate in the community media space.

Ms Majozi asked what role MDDA played during COVID-19 and how the agency responded to this countrywide crisis to date.

Ms Khubheka asked the candidate to demonstrate possible strategies MDDA could implement to improve its funding model for community media.

She asked how MDDA could overcome the influence of fake news.

The Chairperson asked the candidate to provide some innovative ideas on what MDDA could do to ensure that community broadcasters could grow sustainably under the current legislation without expecting more government funding.

The Chairperson said that this engagement was a mutual learning experience and appreciated the candidate’s inputs.

Mr Lionel Adendorf
Ms Faku asked for the candidate's strategies to ensure the financial sustainability of MDDA such as attracting sponsorship – given the limited budget it received from government.

Ms Faku asked how the candidate would navigate the challenge of high signal distribution costs and solve that issue.

Ms Faku asked how the candidate would ensure that community media is evenly spread across all provinces to improve media diversity.

Mr Mbhele noted the candidate’s record in media liaison and communication in his CV. He highlighted the importance of strengthening a sustainable model for MDDA in future. He asked the candidate to elaborate on strategic gap identification for MDDA. What would the candidate say was a key shortfall in the MDDA operating context from a governance outlook using a high-level strategic lens?

Mr Mbhele asked what unique value the candidate would bring to the MDDA board in terms of skills, experience and network to ensure the sustainability of MDDA in the future. For example, what could he bring to the board in terms of resource mobilisation and building strategic partnerships for MDDA?

Mr Gumbu asked what areas in MDDA would be changed by the candidate’s qualifications and experience if he is appointed to the board. What skill sets would he bring to the MDDA board?

Ms Majozi asked what strategies the candidate had to create partnerships for MDDA in rural areas and what measures should be put in place to ensure that the local language content mandate is adhered to. For instance, how would he get mobile service providers to adhere to local language content to benefit rural area residents?

Ms Majozi asked what role MDDA played during COVID-19 and how it had responded to the countrywide crisis to date.

Ms Khubheka asked if the candidate believed the MDDA legislation still remained relevant today.

Ms Khubheka asked if he believed community media could compete with commercial broadcasters. If not, she asked him to provide a practical solution to that.

The Chairperson asked the candidate to provide some innovative ideas on what else MDDA could do to ensure that it has a sustainable financial model for community media under the current legislation without expecting more government funding.

The Chairperson said that this engagement was a mutual learning experience and appreciated the candidate’s inputs.

The Chairperson adjourned the meeting.