During the meetings, the SABC assured political parties that it would do its utmost best to ensure that the elections are covered in fair, balanced and impartial manner. The key message of the Board to the parties was that the SABC's coverage of the elections would provide the electorate with the full picture of developments within the country to ensure that they are in a good position to make informed decisions about the forthcoming elections.
The Chairperson of the SABC Board Kanyi Mkonza requested all political parties to ensure that the SABC is fully informed about their plans and manifestos so as to allow the corporation to best allocate its limited resources.
In addition to all other step that have been taken to ensure equitable coverage, Mkonza informed the parties that the news division has appointed a Complains Officer to deal with all the issues that they will be raising. The turn - around period for those complains will be 72 Hours.
The SABC Board and management, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (ICASA), will be embarking on a road shows to all the provinces to inform the political parties at the regional level about the SABC's election plans and the obligations that the public broadcaster needs to fulfill during the election period.
It was also emphasised that the SABC's charter and its core editorial values are that the; the SABC enjoys freedom of expression and journalistic, creative and programming independence - and that the SABC Board is mandated explicitly to protect the freedom of expression and editorial independence of our news rooms and programming staff.
Some complains raised by the political parties are that the coverage of rural areas is not sufficient, that the needs of disabled voters are not been properly catered for and that there is not enough coverage of issues impacting on women and youth. There were also a number of requests for more debates to be carried live on the SABC platforms In addition to those that are already done.
The SABC, in the lead up to the elections, has committed to the following:
1. To adhere to the legislative and regulatory framework established to ensure free and fair coverage and to ensure that the editorial code and policies are followed.
2. News decisions during elections, as it is always done, will be driven by judgment of news staff and that they will take into account the views, policies and campaigns of all political parties. Editors will make decisions on news value and not political agendas.
3. That any pressures and complains experienced by our editorial staff - where political parties seek to influence editorial decision - should be reported to the relevant editorial and regulatory heads.
4. All news and programming staff are required to familiarise themselves with the ICASA election guidelines as well as the SABC's editorial policies as well as the guidelines developed for election coverage. They must also ensure that they are rigorously followed and implemented.
5. In addition to its usual coverage and programmes, the SABC also committed to go an extra mile in its election coverage and gathering of material for special election programmes, by:
“I am happy that the last two days were a success, where we exchanged views and got inputs from political parties regarding their concerns and expectation,” concluded Mkonza.
