What does the SABC not want South Africans to know?

10 October 2023

I have today written to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, Mr Boyce Maneli, requesting that he reconsider his decision to close part of the meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 11 October, where the SABC’s financial plans will be discussed. I attach the letter here.

The SABC is the Public Broadcaster, with a Constitutional mandate that is largely publicly funded. In our role as Parliamentarians to hold entities to account, we act on behalf of the people of South Africa and our Constitution. In fact, closed meetings undermine Parliamentary accountability and transparency. And as the Constitution and Committee rules state, the public may not be excluded from Committee sittings “unless it is reasonable and justified to do so in an open and democratic society”. There has been no such indication.

If the entity has nothing to hide from the very people it is meant to serve, the Chairperson should have no problem with my request to open the full meeting to the public.

As Shadow Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, I will be in attendance to ensure that South Africans are represented, in accordance with our oath of office as Members of Parliament. The DA will always put the interests of the people of South Africa first. We will not let any entity hide from the South African people, and we will do our job to hold institutions to account.

Issued by Natasha Mazzone, DA Shadow Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, 10 October 2023