Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister, comrades and a few hon members here, I want to start by saying that governments throughout the world, when given a mandate by the electorate, would have made specific commitments which would have persuaded citizens to elect them.
It is therefore correct that governments communicate on a regular basis the work that they are doing and have done and also listen to their citizens to hear their concerns and expectations. It would be totally incorrect if governments did not communicate on how they are implementing the commitments which they have made, and I am sure you would all agree with me on this.
Here in South Africa, it is no different. This ANC government does exactly that. Through the Government Communication and Information System, GCIS, and departmental spokespersons, the successes and achievements, together with the challenges, are communicated on a regular basis. Unfortunately, some opposition parties seem to think that simply because it is an ANC government, therefore there should be no communication at all. [Interjections.] They would in fact prefer that the citizens of this country only hear their voice. [Applause.] They say that the GCIS is nothing more than a propaganda machine of the ANC, speaking on behalf of Luthuli House.
Let us take ourselves forward into the very distant future. If it was remotely possible that one of them happened to win the election, guess what they would do? They would use the GCIS to communicate the work that they would be doing. Although ... [Interjections.] Listen to me! I think that a GCIS under the opposition would close down, as there would be very little to report on. [Interjections.] But let's wait for it. The DA here in the Western Cape uses the GCIS, which they describe as a propaganda machine. It confirms my long-standing belief that the DA is hypocritical, to say the least. [Applause.]
Part of the aim of the GCIS is to provide a comprehensive communication service on behalf of government. Its core vision is to achieve integrated, co-ordinated and clear communication between government and South African citizens to enable them to be involved in the country's transformation. During briefings to the portfolio committee, it was very evident that the GCIS is doing a lot of good work to inform South Africans of the work being performed by government. However, it does seem at times that there is a lack of co-ordination between the various spheres of government, and this is an area that needs more focus - probably more focus here in the Western Cape, by the way.
During visits by the portfolio committee to post offices, we often found that the GCIS stands were empty or were not being used at all. I would agree with hon Steyn from this side of the House that a lot more work needs to be done to ensure that those stands are used and proper material is kept in there at all times. Whilst one acknowledges the work being done throughout the country to inform citizens that more can be done, I want to give you a particular example. How many South Africans are aware that the informal settlement of Zevenfontein, which used to exist alongside Dainfern in the north of Johannesburg, no longer exists? The reason that it no longer exists is because the entire community of Zevenfontein are now housed in a world-class suburb called Cosmo City. [Applause.] I raise this as just one example of the countless examples of the successes of this ANC government over the last 19 years. I am raising this because it also illustrates the need for a co-ordinated and effective communication strategy across all spheres of government.
I would like to make a call to the media in South Africa to report more objectively. Report on the many success stories and how people's lives are being changed. I would also like to make a call to Parliament to move with speed to put in place broadcasting services so that the government and Members of Parliament are able to communicate effectively with citizens, particularly about the work that is happening here in Parliament. [Applause.] The GCIS also needs to make greater use of regional television stations such as Soweto TV and Bay TV to communicate with our citizens.
The Media Development and Diversity Agency, MDDA, which the Deputy Minister has already spoken about, reports to the GCIS. It is entrusted with the responsibility of promoting media development and diversity in South Africa by providing financial and other support to community and small commercial media projects. A particular area I want to focus on is the work being done around community radio stations and newspapers. Under the leadership of our ANC government, some 400 new community radio stations and newspapers have been established through the funding and support of, in the main, the MDDA since the advent of democracy. [Applause.] Today, community radio listenership stands at 28% or to put it more simply: the community radio audience stands at 8,740 million, out of a total radio audience of 31,266 million. These figures are according to the Radio Audience Measurement Survey, RAMS, figures as at February 2013.
This is a remarkable story of what the ANC is doing to create diversity in our media and to give a voice to South Africans where they live. Most of these radio stations and newspapers are in the main run by young people. They are playing an important role in communicating local news to their respective communities. Much of this news is not generally covered by the main stream media. These young men and women have become celebrities within their own communities. More important, however, is that new journalists, radio presenters and studio technicians, amongst others, are being groomed.
A complaint that we often pick up when we visit many of these community radio stations is that often their presenters are taken by bigger radio stations. Whilst this is a challenge for radio stations, it does mean that young people are being given opportunities that otherwise would not have existed. It is because of the ANC and the programmes of the ANC that this is taking place. [Applause.]
A lot of work has been done by the MDDA to train and capacitate the management and staff of these radio stations and newspapers. One of the key challenges is their financial sustainability. It is in this regard that we would need to ask the MDDA to do a lot more work to ensure that their dependence on funding from the MDDA is reduced where possible. However, we do accept that in many areas where community radio stations exist, there is a low level of economic activity, and we need to take that into account as well. We would want to applaud the fact that over the past years, as the Minister has raised earlier, through the efforts of the GCIS, more than R30 million worth of advertising has been placed in the community media sector, and we want to acknowledge that.
The ANC, at its 53rd national conference, said that all spheres of government should advertise in community and small commercial media to assist with media transformation and diversity and the sustenance and growth of these media, and that is exactly what we are seeing happening now. What we now need to see is for local businesses to follow suit and support these radio stations and newspapers by booking advertising space. The Advertising Media Association of South Africa also needs to play a role in encouraging advertising houses to redirect some of their advertising towards community media.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, Icasa, needs to play an improved role in monitoring the content of what is being broadcast by community radio stations. [Interjections.] I just want to say that these radio stations are meant to broadcast community news. They are not funded by the MDDA to broadcast party political objectives. Before the DA shouts too loud, I think we need to ask Icasa to actually go and have a look in the area of Gauteng, particularly in Johannesburg, where there is a radio station that focuses exclusively on broadcasting the DA. Before you shout too loud, there are things that you need to be investigated for as well. [Interjections.]
Most of the community radio stations have told us that they would want to see a greater use of their facilities and services by local and provincial government to inform residents and also to communicate with them. Here we would need to ask GCIS to play a greater role in encouraging this to happen. Both the MDDA and the Department of Communications need to be commended on the work they are doing to support radio stations.
A lot more focus, though, needs to be given to working with the community newspapers. They face major challenges, because of some of the obstacles which are placed in their way by the larger media houses and printing houses. Very often their print runs are delayed, they get their publications late, the printing costs that they are charged is exorbitant, highly expensive, and often the quality of production is poor. We would want to call on these media and printing houses to play a constructive role in working with community newspapers to enable them to succeed and to remind them that at one stage they were also starting out, that they were also struggling, and that they were given a chance to succeed. We think it is only fair that they play their role now.
I just want to mention one last thing before I start to come to a conclusion. I think that a key achievement, and it was mentioned by Deputy Minister Bapela earlier on, that has been reached through community radio is that in the Northern Cape, the Khoi-San now, for the first time, have their own community radio station which broadcasts in their own language. [Applause.] I want to just say that this has been brought about because of the programmes of the ANC. [Applause.]
I want to just respond to a few things as I come to an end. I want to respond to a few things that had been raised by some of the opposition parties. Firstly, I am quite surprised at the amount of publicity they have given to certain publications here today, and it actually makes me wonder whether they have been paid to do that, and I certainly hope that they will declare that if, in fact, they have been paid. [Interjections.]
I also want to say to hon Shinn that GCIS material is widely read. We don't need the Audit Bureau of Circulations, ABC, to tell us whether it is widely read. What we go by and what we judge are the results in every election that has taken place since 1994. [Interjections.] In every election that has taken place, the voters have voted overwhelmingly for the ANC and that tells us that that message is reaching the electorate. [Applause.] I also just want to say something, and I think we need to correct something here. The New Age has never asked the MDDA for funds. In fact, it is the DA that actually asked somebody for funds, and they got them. [Applause.]
I also want to say that the DA stands here and talks glowingly about supposed work that they are doing in the Western Cape but, in fact, Thusong Service Centres in the Western Cape are being closed down - totally the opposite of what they told us here today.
As I come to Cope, what I have wondered sitting here is why they have spent so much time talking about one publication and the adverts that are placed in that publication when, in fact, if you look at all other publications, there are just as many adverts that are placed in these publications. [Interjections.] It actually starts to make me wonder whether this is not perhaps about race. [Interjections.]
I would like to congratulate the IFP and welcome the constructive inputs that they have made on how we should be focusing on improving GCIS publications. [Applause.]
As I conclude, hon Minister, I would like to say that I think the GCIS needs to play a far greater role in communicating with citizens in our country. There are far too many untold successful stories of this government over the last 19 years, and I think as we move into the last year of this particular administration, let's intensify our communication. Let's ensure that citizens are fully aware of what their government has been doing and will continue to do in the next 15, 20, 25, or 30 years after that, because the rule of the ANC is not about to end. In fact, I think what is about to happen is the disappearance of many opposition parties. Thank you very much. [Applause.]