EFF says Broadcasting Amendment Bill ‘an apartheid move’

08 December 2015 - 11:35 By TMG Digital

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) vowed to challenge the Broadcasting Amendment Bill up “to the highest court in the land”. The party’s Mbuyiseni Ndlozi saw the proposed legislation which “seeks to change the responsibility of recommendation for appointment of the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) board to be the sole responsibility of the minister as an anti-democratic totalitarian move”.Under the bill‚ the minister alone recommends the appointment of board members to the president‚ who it would then be up to confirm them.Ndlozi said: “This proposal demonstrates an uncontrollable desire by the ANC government to totalitarianism and be accountable to no one.“The significant thing of any totalitarian government is total control of public broadcasting services coupled with suppression of all media freedom.”The EFF believed that the move would by pass “Parliament…a large body of democratically elected representatives who at all levels ensure that individuals recommended have been subjected to due process”.“This is unlike the new proposal which lies in the hands of just two individuals; the president and minister‚” Ndlozi said.“Without the public broadcaster‚ held accountable by both parliament and cabinet‚ society only depends on corporate private broadcasters to hold politicians accountable.“This bill is therefore an apartheid move‚ a fascist totalitarianism seeking to monopolise the running of the people’s broadcasting services to government.”The EFF also believed the bill “must be rejected because‚ without Parliament‚ people like (suspended COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng‚ who are unqualified to hold positions they occupy‚ will be increased in the leadership of the SABC solely because they want to kill independent journalism within the pubic broadcaster and stop all criticism on the government of the day”...

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