Issued by: SA Communication Service 18TH JUNE 1996
1. Following the invitation by the current Chairperson of the Conference, His Excellency Mr Thabo Mbeki, Deputy President of South Africa, the Bureau of the Conference of African Ministers of Information met in Pretoria on Tuesday, 18th June 1996.
2. In attendance, were all members of the bureau, except Cape Verde, namely:
(i) South Africa (ii) Zambia (iii) Cameroon (iv) Ethiopia (v) Tunisia (vi) Togo
Besides the OAU and PANA, Egypt attended as observer.
3. Under the Chairmanship of Mrs B Mabandla, Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, South Africa the Bureau considered the following agenda items:-
(i) Frequency of the Conference of Ministers (ii) The new legal status of PANA (iii) The OAU Radio: Feasibility Study (iv) An African Satelite channel (v) Programme of Action of ICC
4. After considerable discussions the Bureau decided as follows:
4.1 Frequency of the holding of the Conference of African Information ministers
The Bureau was of the view that the decision of the 1994 Sun City Conference be respected. In this regard, the Bureau decided to pursue the matter through all possible avenues, including revisiting the decision by the OAU Council of Ministers. The Bureau requested the General Secretariat to make their views known to the Heads of State.
4.2 The New Legal Status of PANA
Considering the fact that the document was approved in principle by both the Conference of African Ministers of Information and the Summit, the Bureau took due note of the inputs submitted by four member states and DECIDED to give the go-ahead to PANA management to implement the new legal framework of the agency.
The Bureau commended the management for the concrete steps it took over the past three years to professionaly consolidate the agency.
It also launched a strong appeal to member states to honour their financial contributions and pay their arrears to PANA with a view to enabling the agency to conclude its transi- tional period smoothly.
The Bureau addressed the issue of incentives and sanctions relating to the 25% shares of member states, and decided to grant a grace period of six months to member states that are in arrears to PANA, before applying the proposed formula referred to above.
4.3 The Case for an OAU Radio Station
The bureau decided that the feasibility study be undertaken, provided it takes into consideration all the elements involved such as cost, range of transmission, content, languages etc. in addition to the offers made by Afro-space, the Ethiopian government and First Media.
4.4 African Satellite Channel
Due to the commercial nature of the project, the Bureau directed the General Secretariat to consider the matter under the umbrella of Afro-Arab Co-operation and submit to the Conference of Information Ministers a comprehensive report on the issue, particularly the gains and benefits to Africa from such a project.
4.5 ICC Programme of Action
The Bureau impressed upon member states to facilitate the realisation of the functions and activities featuring on the ICC Programme of Action, due to the financial constraints facing the OAU. It requested the General Secretariat to circulate the programme to all member states together with a written appeal to do so.
4.6 Other business
4.7 Voice of Thanks
The Bureau thanked South Africa for hosting this session and expressed gratitude for the hospitality and excellent facilities.
PRETORIA, 18TH JUNE, 1996