SACP STATEMENT ON DEVELOPMENTS AT THE SABC

The SACP notes and fully supports the statement of the National Union of Mineworkers calling for decisive action at the SABC. The SACP is on record having raised our concerns with the SABC about their skewed news coverage and an open collaboration with the anti-majoritarian liberal tendency in society by the SABC news division, and positioning news in a factionalist manner in relation to our Alliance formations and their components.

The SACP, just like the NUM, is extremely concerned by the latest developments at the SABC news division, seemingly in collaboration with certain elements in the SABC Board. On our part as the SACP we will join the rolling mass action of the NUM.

The SABC board continues to be manipulated by certain individuals in the board for their own narrow political purposes. Rumours of board members intervening and interfering with the news division are too widespread now to ignore. What is strange is that what has been outlined in the corridors of gossip is experienced daily by organisations like the SACP and the NUM. The SABC must be allowed to be a truly independent public broadcaster that does not pursue on the one hand a neo-liberal commercial strategy and on the other hand conducting itself as a narrow government mouth piece.

The SACP is also of the view that the SABC must move with speed to ensure that the many vacant senior positions are filled by competent people. Such incumbents must be impartial and understand the SABC as a public broadcaster that must serve all South Africans, especially the workers and the poor, and not become an instrument for elite and narrow, often factionalist, political interests.

We also call upon government to move with speed to allocate the necessary public resources to the SABC, so that it is not captured by narrow commercial and narrow BEE type interests. We are strongly of the view that the shenanigans at the SABC also have a lot to do with moneyed political interests wanting to capture the public broadcaster for sinister agendas.

We also urge government to ensure that the so-called turnaround strategy of the SABC has become nothing but a narrow cost-cutting exercise and for petty politicking to capture this medium, rather than to strengthen the SABC as a public broadcaster is urgently reviewed to strengthen the broadcasting capacity of the SABC.

We dare not allow the SABC to return back to its recent past of ugly political spats about its direction nor allow it to be captured by liberals and other opportunistic elements. The SACP shall keep a close eye on developments surrounding the SABC.

Statement issued by the SACP, September 19 2011

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