Report of the
Portfolio Committee on Communications on its deliberations on Budget Vote 8: Government
Communication and Information System (GCIS) and its entities: Media Development
and Diversity Agency (MDDA) and International Marketing Council (IMC), dated 26
May 2011
The
Portfolio Committee on Communications, having considered the strategic plans of
GCIS, the MDDA and the IMC, reports as follows:
1. Background
Section 55(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa (Act 108 of 1996) states that the National Assembly must provide for
mechanisms (a) to ensure that all executive organs of state in the national
sphere of government are accountable to it; and (b) to maintain oversight of
(i) the exercise of national executive authority including the implementation
of legislation; and (ii) any organ of state. In terms of the Public Finance
Management Act (No. 1 of 1999), the Accounting Officers must provide Parliament
or the relevant legislature with their respective institution’s medium-term
strategic plan and, where applicable, their annual performance.
The Minister in The Presidency: Performance Monitoring and
Evaluation tabled the Medium Term Strategic Plan of the Government
Communication and Information System (GCIS) and the Strategic Plans for the
GCIS entities for 2011-2014 on 9 March 2011. The Committee held briefings with
GCIS and its entities on 15 March 2011.
In performing its constitutional mandate, the Committee scrutinised
the alignment of strategic plans (2011-2014) of GCIS and its entities with the
following key government objectives:
The above fundamental principles served as government’s
underlying programme of action. The Committee wanted to establish whether the
funds allocated would help to transform programmes into actual service delivery
action plans within the borders of the country, especially in rural and
underserviced areas and beyond.
2. Government Communications and Information System (GCIS) - R496 393 000.00
The Minister in the Presidency responsible for Performance,
Monitoring and Evaluation to whom GCIS is accountable, Mr OC
Chabane, presented an overview of the Strategic Plan of the GCIS. The mandate of
the GCIS is to provide communication, leadership and support to government
departments and government and its operational requirement is to keep the public
informed about policies, legislations, programmes and activities of government through
different platforms.
The following
officials from the GCIS appeared before the Committee on 15 March 2011:
Mr OC
Chabane - Minister in the Presidency: Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation;
Ms Dina Pule
- Deputy Minister in the Presidency: Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation;
Mr Jimmy
Manyi - Chief Executive Officer (CEO): GCIS;
Mr Vusi Mona
- Deputy CEO: GCIS;
Ms Phumla
Williams - Deputy CEO: GCIS..
The GCIS has
the following programmes with their allocated budget and medium-term outputs:
Programme 1: Communication & Content Management – R290 969 000.00
The purpose
of the programme is to provide strategic leadership in government communication
for the purpose of ensuring coherence, coordination, consistency and quality
and responsiveness. The programme focused on policy and research, media
engagement, communication service agency and content and writing.
Programme 2: Government and Stakeholder Engagement – R92 238 000.00
The purpose
of the programme was to provide leadership and strategic advice to the
government communication system. The programme focused on provincial and local
liaison, programme support and media development.
Programme 3: Administration programme
– R113 186 000.00
The
purpose of the programme is to provide efficient and effective support service
to GCIS. The programme focused on finance and supply chain management, human
resources, information technology and management, strategic planning and
programme management and internal auditing.
The
challenges facing GCIS includes public perception of government’s performance
in relation to the five priorities. The highest negative perceptions were
around the Departments of Heath on HIV and Aids, Police on crime, Social
Development on grants, Labour, Economic Development and Land Reform. At the
operational level under Communications and Content Management Programme, GCIS
also experienced challenges in accessing political principals of state institutions
and inability to have full authority over departmental and municipality
communicators.
3. Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) - R43 924 291.00
The MDDA is
a statutory development agency for promoting and ensuring media development and
diversity, set up a partnership between the South African Government and major
print and broadcasting companies to assist in amongst others developing
community and small commercial media in
The overall
objective of the agency is to ensure that all citizens can access information
in a language of their choice and to transform media access, ownership and
control patterns in
The MDDA was
represented by the following persons:
Ms Phumelele
Nzimande – Acting Chairperson;
Mr Lumko
Mtimde – Chief Executive Officer;
Nebo Legoabe
– Board member;
Nadia
Bulbulia – Board member;
Louise Vale
– Board member;
Mshiyeni
Gungqisa – Chief Financial Officer;
Lihle
Mndebela – HR & Corporate Affairs Manager;
Nkopane
Maphiri – Programmes Director;
Kgomotso
Moeketsi – Manager in the CEO’s office;
Hariet
Mhlanga – Executive Secretary.
The MDDA has
the following key result areas:
KRA 1: Grant and seed
funding – R24 982,863.00
To promote and strengthen the small commercial print and
community media, to enhance the sustainability of the community and small
commercial media and to strengthen and consolidate beneficiary projects.
KRA 2: Fundraising and
resource mobilisation – R600 000.00
To strengthen, grow and protect the MDDA capital base, thus accordingly
increase the funding and resource base of the MDDA and its beneficiaries.
KRA 3: Research, knowledge
management, monitoring and evaluation – R572 818.00
To enhance learning and innovation in the sector and to
strengthen relations with MDDA contractual and non-contractual stakeholders.
KRA 4: Advocacy for
media development and diversity – R350 000.00
To contribute towards improving the operating environment of
the community and small commercial media sectors, to enhance and position MDDA
as leader in the media development and diversity sector and to promote media
literacy and culture of reading.
KRA 5: Diverse and
quality content – R2 000 000.00
To enhance and improve programming, production and build
capacity in the community broadcasting sector.
The major challenge for the MDDA remains a sharp decline of
the financial support by mainstream print media to the community print. The
other challenge includes inadequate financial support from all spheres of
government to sustain the community media through placing of advertisements
that advocates government programmes and activities.
In terms of the tariffs, the MDDA brought to the attention
of the Committee that although the regulations divide tariffs payable by
licensees to ICASA in different categories, namely commercial, community and
public media, community broadcasting is charged the same amount (R82 000 a
month) as if they fall into other categories. This causes financial instability
and in many instances leads to the closure of the community media sector.
Under human resources there were two challenges: firstly,
there was diminished capacity for the MDDA to manage, monitor, evaluate and
report adequately due to limited financial resources to recruit and retain best
employees that the market could offer. Secondly, there was general
dissatisfaction among staff regarding salaries and benefits offered by the organisation
compared to the knowledge and skills requirements, given the broad spectrum of
projects across the country.
4. International
Marketing Council of
The mandate of the IMC is to build South Africa’s national
brand reputation in order to improve South Africa’s global competitiveness, to
develop and articulate the value proposition and positioning that will drive
the long-term reputation of Brand South Africa, to build pride and patriotism
among South Africans with the aim of uniting the nation by encouraging all
South Africans to “live” the Brand, and in so doing define “South Africanness”.
The ultimate aim is to increase
The IMC presentation was done by Ms Anitha Soni, Chairperson
of the Board, and Mr Miller Matola, Chief Executive Officer.
In pursuit of its overarching objectives, the IMC has the
following six specific strategies:
Brand Strategy
Development and Management – R34 650 000.00
The strategy is aimed at the articulation and roll out of
brand positioning and to ensure that all stakeholders are aligned to the national
brand in terms of corporate identity, messaging and imaging.
Reputation Management
– R24 400 000.00
To develop a thought leadership and media strategy aligned
to the new positioning to influence global perceptions that will drive the
long-term reputation and Brand South
Knowledge Management –
R16 200 000.00
Maintenance of an integrated research and knowledge
management strategy across global and domestic platforms (e.g. international
and domestic brand tracking studies etc.). Research and tracking of Brand South
Stakeholder &
Partners Alignment and Integration – R31 300 000.00
The IMC follows a collaborative approach in marketing Brand
South Africa, ensuring consistency and alignment in how
Organisational Development
– R3 260 000.00
Ongoing enhancement of internal processes and systems
towards a stakeholder-driven, project management, strong organisation; Board development;
ongoing refinement of governance framework; and corporate social investment (CSI)
strategy roll out.
Prudent Financial
Management and Control – R35 841 000.00
Ensuring proper financial management control; governance and
compliance; Risk Management and Rescue Plan; cost-saving and environmental
measures; and the IMC funding model.
5. Recommendations
5.1 The Committee is satisfied with the GCIS
Strategic Plan (2011-2014) in terms of what it seeks to do. As stipulated in
the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act which vests powers in
Parliament to reject or recommend budgets of departments. The Portfolio
Committee on Communications in this regard, therefore, recommends the following:
·
GCIS should be given more authority
over government spokespersons in order to intervene where necessary;
·
The Head of Communications and spokespersons
of government departments should be allowed to attend high-level departmental meetings
in order to speak from an informed perspective and authority
·
Attendance of the National
Communicators’ Forum must be attached to the performance agreement of all
government communications personnel;
·
Speeding up the process of
appointing a service provider for the communications curriculum;
·
The Committee, however, recommends
that the budget for GCIS be supported.
5.2 The Committee acknowledges the
achievements of the MDDA regardless of the budgetary constraints, particularly
in supporting local community media and providing opportunities for the youth.
·
The
Committee, however, recommends that in order for the agency to fulfil its
mandate, GCIS should initiate discussions with National Treasury for the
possibility of allocating more funds to the MDDA.
·
GCIS
as a leader of government communications must influence all government
departments, municipalities and state entities to contribute a certain
percentage of their total budget allocation to communications chief
directorates or divisions towards advertising through the community media to
ensure long-term sustainability of the sector. Failure to adhere to this will
result in an amendment to the MDDA Act to force departments to do so.
·
The
Committee also recommends that the MDDA and ICASA should urgently attend to the
issue of tariffs as specified in the MDDA Act.
·
The
Committee also acknowledges the HR financial constraints and therefore
recommends that the MDDA conducts a comparative study regarding competitive
employees’ salaries and benefits from other countries
5.3 The
Committee supported the IMC for branding and marketing the country
internationally and requested the entity to provide the Committee members with
relevant information in order to further develop a better understanding of the
entity’s activities.
Report to
be considered.