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Future South Africa urges the new SABC board, which was finally appointed by President Jacob Zuma this week, to ensure that the broadcaster serves the interest of the public.

We commend civil society organisations, the SOS Coalition and Media Monitoring Africa, who are fighting for the SABC to become a proper public broadcaster, for compelling the president to appoint the board.

We also welcome the High Court ruling that has limited the Minister of Communication’s power in relation to the appointment, discipline and suspension of SABC executives. This power is now vested in the board.

News of the appointments and the High Court ruling comes ahead of the 40th anniversary of Black Wednesday, when on October 19, 1977, journalists and newspapers were targeted and banned by the apartheid state. The day symbolises the importance of media freedom, highlighting the type of crimes that governments can get away with without the media being allowed to play its watchdog role.

It is of great concern to FutureSA that there have been over the years a systematic attempt to capture the SABC in the interest of serving narrow political and business interests, rather than the interest of the public. We believe that the capture of the broadcaster must be seen within the broader context of state capture.

We hope that the new board will work tirelessly to overcome the governance and management crises that has plagued the broadcaster, and to put an immediate end to all attempts at capturing the SABC. We also hope that the new board will ensure that editorial independence is entrenched and that journalistic professionalism is respected.

We continue pledging support to those within the SABC, particularly the SABC 8, who have risked much in the pursuit of media freedom and ensuring that the public broadcaster fulfils its mandate.

We also commend journalists and whistle-blowers for continuing to ensure that South Africans are kept informed and aware of the efforts of some individuals and entities, who aim to loot public coffers and capture the state.

FutureSA commits to supporting ongoing efforts aimed at entrenching the Constitutional ideal of media freedom, an essential ingredient in any democracy.

Issued by Future South Africa