Hon
Chairperson, let me recognize the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Ms Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, other Ministers and Deputy Ministers here present, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, hon Hope Papo, members of the portfolio committee, director-generals of respective departments, commissioners of the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, captains of industry, distinguished guests, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen, let me start out by apologizing to the House for the regrettable incident that took place at last week's portfolio committee session. This was not out of disrespect to the portfolio committee and all South Africans; it was the effects of taking new flu medication and bearing the consequences thereof. I unconditionally apologise. [Interjections.]
With eight days left to Mandela Day, we as the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies are guided by the words
of our former President, Nelson Mandela, when he said and I quote: "The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear". With many challenges to face and the many unknowns that come with the advancement of technology, like Madiba said, we have to be brave and conquer those fears. As we head into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, our drive needs to be underpinned by strong institutions, especially the state- owned enterprises, agencies and regulators.
Significant strides have been made to transform the SABC from being the mouthpiece of the apartheid government into a true public broadcaster. The uninterrupted coverage of the 2019 national and provincial elections enabled South Africans from all walks of life the opportunity to receive pertinent information about the elections, therefore facilitating a participatory democracy. This once again positioned the national broadcaster as an important pillar of our democracy and is probably best summed up by the analysis of Media Monitoring Africa - an independent media monitoring group, which concluded the following and I quote:
The SABC's coverage of the 2019 general elections are to be strongly commended, not just because they were overwhelmingly fair, but because there was a clear shift to offer more citizens voices; political parties were equitably covered; the SABC stood up for their editorial independence; provincial coverage was in line with general population spread and to the best of our knowledge, no formal complaints about the SABC's failure to run party adverts or messages were lodged.
This proves, hon Mokoena, how the SABC is depoliticised.