Hon Chairperson; hon members; hon members of Cabinet present here; hon Minister and Deputy Minister; members of the Portfolio Committee on Communications; the CEO of the Government Communications and the Information System, Mr Manyi - I nearly said hon Manyi; the CEO of Media Development and Diversity Agency, Mr Mtimde; and members and distinguished guests, it is again my pleasure, privilege and honour to introduce the debate on the Budget Vote of the GCIS and be part of Brand South Africa on behalf of the Portfolio Committee on Communications. After the historic election of the first democratically elected government of South Africa on 27 April 1994, it was immediately clear that the new government's focus was people centred and that communication was regarded as a critical responsibility. In his first address to a joint sitting of Parliament on 24 May 1994, President Mandela emphasised that his government's commitment would be as follows:
My government's commitment to create a people-centred society of liberty binds us to the pursuit of the goals of freedom from want, freedom from hunger, freedom from deprivation, freedom from ignorance, freedom from suppression and freedom from fear.
These freedoms are fundamental to the guarantee of human dignity. They will therefore constitute part of the centrepiece of what this Government will seek to achieve, the focal point on which our attention will be continually focused. The things we have said constitute the true meaning, the justification and the purpose of the Reconstruction and Development Programme, without which it would lose all legitimacy.
In addition to that, during the 1995 Budget Vote speech on the then South African Communication Service, former Deputy President Thabo Mbeki echoed this sentiment by saying, and I quote: The government is committed to the view that as part of the building of a people-centred society the people has the right to be informed about the government's policies, programmes and services.
It [government] therefore also has an inescapable responsibility to ensure that it keeps the people informed on a continuous basis, so that they will be able to intervene in an informed and purposeful manner where their future is at stake
Hon Chairperson, the GCIS is part of our democracy and developing an informed citizenry. As such, an effective government communication system should be able to perform three basic things: informing the citizens; advocating or persuading for policies and reforms; and lastly, engaging the citizens.
The ability of government to communicate with citizens must therefore be coupled to the willingness to listen to them, incorporate their needs and preferences into the policy processes and engage local patterns of influence and trusted sources of information. When we have achieved the above, only then we can say we have an effective government communication system.
In addition to this public engagement model, one must be cognisant of the global digital changes that have revolutionised government communication. By 2001, according to a United Nations report, 169 of its 190 member countries had a government website presence, 84 countries had a national government website, 36 countries featured single-entry portals and 17 governments offered an on-line transactions capacity.
By 2002, nations ranked highest for the extent of their e-government programmes were Taiwan and South Korea, amongst other countries.
In the South African context, the Constitution guarantees the freedom of expression. Internationally, Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
I believe that the GCIS has done exceptionally well in this regard, in particular by digitising our government systems and ensuring that information is up to date and readily available for our citizens.
Media diversity in any country is regarded as a measure of the depth of its democracy. Every citizen should have access to a range of media services. I am definitely sure that under your leadership, hon Minister, South Africa is on its way to achieving this mission.
In the new era of recognition and legitimacy, community media is increasingly seen as a small enterprise with a responsibility to survive and sustain high-quality community services.
Hon Minister, I am glad to say that President Jacob Zuma, during the state of the nation address, raised, amongst other things, the point that we need to create employment. According to the media programme of the department, and I quote:
There are young, energetic and passionate reporters and producers in both community print and radio, who can make a valuable contribution in the strengthening of society through investigating and reflecting the concerns of "ordinary people", holding local government accountable, disseminating information and promoting community coherence and social capital. In this respect, the importance of community media cannot go unnoticed.
In light of the above, I note the upcoming Sanlam/MDDA Local Media Awards ceremony, which will take place on 18 May 2012 in Durban. This will showcase the importance of job creation and ensure that young people are participating at the same time as creating the many jobs that are needed.
In the wise words of former President Nelson Mandela, and I quote:
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
We have noted that the department's 2007-08 and 2010-11 organisational review identified a number of challenges in the government communications environment. We have noted in the review that the department, among other things, lacked the authority in providing leadership to government communications and that there was a shortage of communication skills. To this end, we request you, hon Minister, to ensure a speedy finalisation and the imminent implementation of a qualification course in government communications. The flow of information is important for the development of communities and the media facilitates this. Without a wide array of information, people's opinions and views would be limited and their impressions and conclusions of the world around them will be stunted.
The Committee has further noted the community media's frustration in relation to the following issues: preferential government advertising, which prioritises advertising through the mainstream media; the use of advertising labour brokers or agencies; and late payment of accounts by advertisers, including government departments. The challenges raised above adversely affect the sustainability of business. The lack of adequate risk management systems in the community media has created a loophole for self-centred and unscrupulous people who disguise themselves as media advertising brokers. To this end, we support the establishment of the centralised on-line booking system of the MDDA.
Hon Minister, you have already spoken about the decision by or resolution of Cabinet in respect of bulk buying. In that regard we urge government to play a more proactive role in ensuring that a margin of government, department, entities and advertising spend goes towards community media for long-term sustainability. Former editor of The Sunday Times and The Times of London, Harold Evans, once said:
Credibility is good business; the challenge is not to stay in business, it is to stay in journalism.
The South Africa media found themselves operating under increasingly difficult conditions in the 1990s, with an explosion in new media products and the entry of global media companies into the local market. Although many media companies have posted profits in the last few years, publications face stiff competition, not just for readers, but also for advertising, which provides commercial media with the greater part of their revenue.
To maintain their profitability, many publications have developed a range of strategies to attract advertising. In particular, these strategies include developing the kind of content that advertisers desire most; the kind of content that creates a buying mood for their products.
There have certainly been commentators who have argued the case that there is nothing wrong with the print media using their products to generate as much profit as possible. Each print organisation is a business, after all, seeking to generate value and growth for shareholders and sustainability and income for employees. What could be wrong with this argument is the blurring of the editorial content. Advertising copy has a number of profound negative consequences. These range from the gradual erosion of public trust in the media and the poisoning of the public discourse to the creation of impediments to the consolidation of our new democracy.
Apart from these social ills, the growing practice of linking content to advertising in ways that are obscured from the reader can, if left unchecked, have commercial implications damaging the credibility of titles and therefore affecting their profitability and long-term financial health.
The Press Code of Professional Practices, policed by the Press Ombudsman of South Africa, is the principal mechanism for the self-regulation of the print media sector as we speak. The press code demands truth, accuracy and fairness from the media, together with a lack of distortion and misrepresentation. However, the point that one needs to raise is that we think this noble principle is compromised by the taste the commercial or print media has for maximising profits and making more money from advertising.
Parliament, having regard for the Comtask Report of 1996, has recognised with discontent the continued exclusion and marginalisation of disadvantaged communities and persons from access to the media and the media industry.
Coupled with media transformation is the need for transformation within the advertising industry. It is therefore essential that the advertising industry must be re-evaluated in line with the social transformation agenda and principles of inclusivity.
We note with concern that there seems to be consistent confusion on the legitimate definition of what constitutes community media. The engagement between the MDDA and the advertising industry must speed up to deal with this particular confusion. The contemporary research on the role and transformation of the media suggests that the aggressive pursuit of commercial gains by credible publications could be a short-term and dangerous state of affairs. Having said that, Chairperson and hon Minister, I must congratulate the GCIS for taking the lead in ensuring effective government communication, developing media diversity and marketing South Africa under Brand South Africa. I further thank the industry for the robust debate on issues of media transformation. Hon Tsebe will elaborate on these matters.
The ANC remains committed to a media climate that is free from vested political and commercial interests. This has been and continues to be the guiding principle in our engagement in respect of the ongoing discussion on media transformation and accountability. This principle will guide us when interacting with the report of the Press Freedom Commission.
Furthermore, the GCIS must continue in its efforts to adequately provide citizens with information on government programmes and activities. Disadvantaged communities and persons must have access to the media. Government must take an active step in supporting the community media segment, in particular through advertising, capacity building and the timely payments of accounts. Hon Minister, when we do oversight, we are told that government departments do not pay within the 30 days and this, of course, presents challenges for these communities.
Lastly, as the former President Mandela once said: "It always seems impossible until it is done." We are convinced that media transformation in the public interest, not in the commercial interest, is not an impossible dream. It can and will be done through our collective effort.
I conclude with the words of the legendary football coach and motivational speaker who said: "Individual commitment to a group effort; that is what makes a team work, a company work, society work and civilisation work." Indeed, together we can do more. The ANC supports the Budget Vote of the GCIS and Brand SA. Thank you.