A to-do list for the new Communications Minister

As the third Communications Minister in 7 months, Mmamoloko Kubayi now faces the monumental task of bringing much-needed stability to the various entities of her department, almost all of which face serious governance and financial crises.

With the experience and knowledge gained as the former Chairperson of Parliament’s Telecommunications and Postal Services portfolio committee, Kubayi will have no choice but to hit the ground running.

First on her agenda will be working hand in hand with the newly appointed SABC board to address issues raised by staff last week, in order to prevent imminent strike action and keep the public broadcaster on air.

Other key issues Minister Kubayi will have to urgently address, include:

Full disclosure to Parliament and the public of the application submitted to National Treasury for a R3 billion bail-out for the SABC;

Appointment of the SABC’s top executives according to the prescripts of the Broadcasting Act and the SABC Charter;

Scrapping the SABC’s problematic Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI);

Recommending to the President the immediate suspension of Media Diversity and Development Agency (MDDA) Chairperson, Phelisa Nkomo, who has been implicated in serious financial mismanagement at the entity;

Appointing permanent top management at the MDDA, Films and Publications Board (FPB), and the Government Communications and Information Systems (GCIS); and

Investigating the suspension, withdrawing of charges and full payouts to the former CEOs of the FPB and ICASA.

Minister Kubayi has the opportunity to demonstrate to prove South Africa wrong that all she is an enforcer of President Jacob Zuma by tackling without fear or favour the issues facing her department and its entities.

We trust that she will be a responsive, communicative, hard-working, fearless Minister, or we will have no choice but to push for it to be goodbye, Kubayi.

Statement issued by Phumzile Van Damme MP, DA Shadow Minister of Communications, 19 October 2017