ANC wants ability to fire the SABC board - so what?

One fact that has to be borne in mind in taking such a decision is that the SABC has always been the mouthpiece of the ruling party. And as long as it remains a state entity, it will continue to be the mouthpiece of what political party is running this country. Nothing will change that status quo.

So, while one can be idealistic about having all sorts of checks and balances to make sure that an SABC board cannot just be summarily dismissed en masse, the fact of the matter is that even with all those checks and balances, if any board does not toe the party line or doesn't perform in any other way to the satisfaction of the ruling party, then life will simply become miserable for everyone in the SABC and political ructions will tear apart the fabric of efficiency and corporate governance as it is doing at the SABC today.

Right now we have a board trying to the right thing but being in the middle of a political football field with both sides kicking the daylights out of them. None of which is serving South Africa.

Bizarre transparency

One could look at this provision the ANC want to put into the bill as some kind of bizarre transparency. In the past, ruling parties have gone to great length to insist that they are not trying to control the SABC, but at least now the ANC has come clean and not a single South African will be in any doubt whatsoever that any opinions that are expressed in SABC programmes under this bill will be those of the ANC. A warped kind of honesty but practical in a completely undemocratic way.

Ideally of course, the SABC should be above politics. It should not have to toe any party line. It should be able to have an independent board unrestrained by party affiliations and political infighting. It should be able to present news and entertainment to South Africans without fear or favour.

The thing is it won't. It can't and it never will.

So, one needs to ask the question about why we should bother to try and stop the ANC from including a provision in the bill to allow Parliament to fire the board. At least this will do away with the current crippling disruptions that are demotivating staff and turning the SABC from a laughing stock into a complete laughing stock.

Pragmatic route

And the reason it might make sense to go the pragmatic route, even if it is totally undemocratic and stupid to the nth degree, is that South Africa at least has some independent TV and radio stations to which we can turn for the truth. As long as we have e.tv and Primedia Broadcasting, we don't have to listen to any politically induced claptrap on the SABC but can just watch our soapies, sport and magazine programmes and then at news time switch over the someone we can trust not to distort the facts in their pathetic attempts to please their political bosses.

Allowing the ANC to get away with introducing such an undemocratic bill does have its dangers in terms of other undemocratic moves they might decide to make.

But, if it weren't for the fact that this new bill not only flies in the face of democracy and probably our constitution and employment legislation, I would say get on with it and let the SABC be seen clearly by all to be controlled by the ruling party. At least we have alternatives.

Problem is that the SABC would probably lose so much revenue along with this loss of credibility that taxpayers would have to continue bailing it out. I reckon that if the ANC want to control the SABC, it - and not us - should pay for it. Fat chance.

For more:

• IOL: Cosatu: SABC bill a triumph for democracy
  

• IOL: ANC steamrollers Broadcasting Bill
  

• Business Day: Fury as SABC bill lets MPs axe board