Chairperson, Minister, board members and MDDA staff present, the Media Development and Diversity Agency was established in 2003 to create an enabling environment for historically disadvantaged communities who were deprived of access to information and to assist them to actively participate in the democratic process of our country. The other rationale was that the South African media was dominated by male and white people. As a result, the media houses lack diversity and the recognition of the indigenous languages and culture of the majority.
The MDDA, firstly, supports media-related projects with the intention to create a favourable environment for local media development and diversity in terms of the target, content language; and secondly, aims to redress exclusion and marginalisation of disadvantaged communities from access to electronic and print media and the media industry as a whole. Through the MDDA, we are moving in the right direction in assisting the people of South Africa to access information in the language of their choice and to transform media access, ownership and control patterns.
The MDDA has supported various projects and initiatives from ordinary people who are eager to assist their communities. Most of those community radio stations are in rural areas. Those who come from KwaZulu-Natal will agree with me when I say that the Maputaland community Radio station is located in Jozini.
Kwa Mhlabuyalingana [It's a place near Jozini.]
The agency has managed to award 55 bursaries to different radio and print managers; R77 million in grants to 239 media projects; and trained 498 people from the various provinces. These are encouraging and positive stories that need to be appreciated by all of us, particularly by the young people of South Africa. Well done to the MDDA, because most of the projects are in rural areas and in townships and are not concentrated in one province, but are scattered among all provinces.
I would also like to raise challenges facing the agency: challenges like limited funding. As the portfolio committee, we have noted that the issue of funding is a serious matter. The other challenges are the shortage of staff and low salaries, as well as limited capacity to monitor and evaluate all projects adequately. Another challenge is the unfavourable market environment for print media development. Labo abebephethe kuqala basafuna ukuphatha namanje. [Those who were in power before still want to be in power.]
Things that require the MDDAs focus are things like strengthening the monitoring and evaluation capacity. For me it is critical for the MDDA to strengthen its capacity to monitor and evaluate, because it's one thing to create more projects, but without any proper evaluation and monitoring we will end up asking the same question the chairperson of the portfolio committee has just asked about the MDDA and its efficacy.
Another task is to popularise your work. The MDDA is doing good work, but it is not popularising it. Go out there and advertise if needs be. Engage other private funders to support your projects, because to rely on funding from government will sometimes be a challenge. It was encouraging to know that the MDDA has, since 2003, always received an unqualified audit report. Hon Minister, give them more money. They know how to utilise it, unlike others.
In conclusion, the agency has been able to implement chapters 6 and 31 of our Constitution. Indeed, it is a strategic mechanism for government to support and transform the media of South Africa and reverse the imbalances of the past. When I talk about government, I am talking about the ANC government.
We urge young people to seize this opportunity created by the ANC government. We further encourage the private sector to also support such initiatives for the advancement of a better life for all. Indeed, together we can do more to change the lives of ordinary people for the better. The ANC supports the budget. Thank you.