Ruling party pushes for Media Appeals Tribunal

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) is pushing full-stream ahead with its plans to fine-tune the party’s 2007 Polokwane resolution to probe setting up a statutory Media Appeals Tribunal (MAT) answerable to Parliament. Polokwane resolution reaffirmed the Stellenbosch 2002 resolution on media transformation, expressing concerns at the slow pace of implementation.

Ahead of its National General Council meeting on the 20-24 September 2010, Durban, the ANC has released its discussion document that outlines key areas to be discussed relating to media issues in the country. The focus is on the current state of media, broadcast media, print media, media ownership and control, freedom of expression put into perspective, media freedom put into perspective, recommendations and processing of the congress resolution on the MAT, competition issues in print media, establishment of the media charter, media diversity, strengthening of the ANC internal communications capacity and other communications platforms.

Addressing journalists at ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters, in Johannesburg, party’s General-Secretary Gwede Mantashe said “the investigation should further consider the mandate of the Media Appeals Tribunal and its powers to adjudicate over matters or complaints expressed by citizens against print media, in terms of decisions and rulings made by the existing self-regulatory institutions, in the same way as it happens in the case of broadcasting through the Complaints Committee of the Independent Authority of South Africa (Icasa).”
Attached is the discussion document on Media Transformation, Ownership and Diversity to be discussed on ANC national General Council meeting 20-24 September 2010, in Durban. //End//

Reagan Malumo
Programme Specialist: Media Freedom Monitoring and Research
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Regional Secretariat
21 Johann Albrecht St
Private Bag 13386
Windhoek
Namibia
Phone: +264 61 232 975
Fax: +264 61 248 016
Mobile: +264 81 311 2626

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