South Africa Opposition Parties Oppose New Broadcasting Law

South African National Assembly on Tuesday passed the Broadcasting Amendment Bill amid promises by the opposition to petition President Thabo Mbeki on the matter. The bill provides, among other things, for parliament to play a major role in removing the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board members from office.

Dene Smuts of the Democratic Alliance (DA) said the bill “puts on public display the intentions of the ruling portion of the ruling party” to control the public broadcaster.

He said the bill also ignores the constitutional concept of separation of powers and it was especially on that concept that the DA would petition Mbeki not to sign it into law.

Suzanne Vos of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) said the bill would prove to be an enabling factor for direct political interference in the governance of the SABC and an assault on the board’s independence.

“We question the constitutionality of the attempt to fudge the separation of powers between the executive and parliament by making the ’appointing body’ of the SABC board the President in consultation with the Speaker of the National Assembly” he said

“The proposition that an entire board of the SABC can be removed, not by ’due enquiry’, but merely after a ’finding’ of a committee of the National Assembly is, quite simply, outrageous.”

Vos said the IFP was also considering petitioning Mbeki not to sign the bill into law once it was passed by parliament.

The Independent Democrats, African Christian Democratic Party, and Freedom Front Plus also opposed the bill on the same grounds.

Source African Press Agency

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