Communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda has dismissed claims by the Democratic Alliance (DA) that the proposed Public Broadcasting Bill will give him total control over the SABC.
“Not only are these claims baseless and unfounded, they also have the potential to mislead the people of this country,” he said in a terse statement.
Earlier this week, the DA revealed its stance on the proposed Bill, saying the legislation would give the minister, and not Parliament or the SABC board, the power to interfere with the functioning of the public broadcaster.
The party also says the new legislation will provide the ministry with additional funding for the broadcaster through a 1% tax to be levied on working South Africans. The DA's concern is that the situation presents a similar scenario to apartheid times.
However, the minister has hit back at the allegations, saying the SABC board has an executive management team and a board of directors, which remain responsible for the running of the public broadcaster.
He has also lambasted the claims by the opposition party over the 1% tax to fill SABC coffers. “I wish to place it on record that this issue has been raised with National Treasury to inform the minister of finance about the draft Bill and its implications to his department.”
The Bill has faced the public comment process and Nyanda says the comments are now being consolidated and sent to Cabinet for discussion. “The public would, therefore, have another opportunity to give their views about the draft Bill before it is passed into law.”
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