Chairperson, it is my pleasure to introduce, on behalf of the Portfolio Committee on Communications, this Budget debate on the Government Communication and Information System. My colleagues from the ANC will speak on the specific entities linked to the GCIS such as the International Marketing Council and the Media Diversity and Development Agency. I would therefore like to focus on the GCIS at a systemic level.
Before I proceed, I would like to extend a hearty welcome to Minister Collins Chabane, the new executive head of the GCIS. Other than being a talented musician who plays the marimba and the mouth organ, he is known for his warm and caring personality. He is a people's man and a good listener. I know him both as an activist and a former MP in this Parliament, who has tremendous foresight and the ability to survive under trying circumstances. It is good that this entity falls under a Minister who is an easy communicator.
The core responsibility of the GCIS is to achieve an integrated, co- ordinated and coherent government communication and information system. Its mandate requires that its communication be extended so that, firstly, members of the public have access to information about government that enables them to participate in the transformation process and to improve their own lives; secondly, it brings the realities of our emerging democracy to the attention of the international community; and thirdly, it promotes African renaissance, including regional integration and the implementation of people-centred development programmes.
In short, then, the GCIS has to provide strategic leadership and guidance on all aspects of government communication with the public, both domestically and internationally. Its communication policy should be a management tool to ensure that the public receives timely, accurate, objective and complete information about government policies, programmes and services. It is not difficult to say with confidence that the GCIS has made strides in fulfilling this mandate. Its regular, post-Cabinet media briefings are an excellent example of executive transparency and openness, whose aim is not to suppress government information, but to reveal and to inform.
The GCIS has also established a constructive relationship with the SA National Editors' Forum, which has improved relations between government and the media. It has extensive communications research tools for strategising and advising Cabinet on its communication imperatives. In addition, as we've heard, over 130 operational Thusong Service Centres have been established. It has produced a range of products in different official languages in an attempt to popularise the President's state of the nation address.
The South Africa Yearbook and the Pocket Guide to South Africa are published annually and distributed to schools, libraries and tertiary institutions free of charge. They are also available to foreign tourists interested in reading more about our beautiful country. The popular magazine, Vuk'uzenzele, together with a Braille partner magazine, has a print run of 1,5 million copies.
These and the list of successes described by the Minister earlier on are important for us. Those are notable successes of the GCIS, but I want to raise one important question to the Minister and the officials of the GCIS, which is whether or not the GCIS is effectively co-ordinating government's daily messages. Are we getting it right every time, every day? That's the key question.
Some of you might remember that I raised this matter in last year's debate. I said then that, although the GCIS has served several co-ordinating mechanisms, such as the Government Communications Forum, it is too early to tell whether or not these structures are having the desired effect. We must ask whether the GCIS is at the cutting edge of media in this country. Is it the key instrument that shapes public perceptions of our government or is this race won by the private media houses? It seems to me that the GCIS does exceptionally well when there is a noncontentious story to be told, but it falters when confronted with controversies - and I said this last year. A prime example of this dithering occurred the day Minister Trevor Manuel resigned. Government's credibility as a whole was undermined by the contradictory statements from different government structures. So the question that we must still answer is: What is preventing the GCIS from co- ordinating government's messages so that it speaks with one voice regularly and consistently? We must get a satisfactory response to this question and a clear plan of action to overcome this weakness.
Then there are still too many complaints from the media and the public about the standards of government communicators. I'm sure all of us have heard some departmental or ministerial spokespersons on TV and radio. They are just not effective communicators. They are not convincing in what they say, and how they say it leaves much to be desired.
Modern communication is really based on the concept of a two-way dialogue between the communicator and the audience. In fact, the communicator must be both communicator and audience in the sense that he/she must listen to audience reactions to the messages being imparted. The old style of communication as a way of simply telling people things or persuading them to act and respond in certain ways, is inadequate in a modern democracy. Sadly, some of our government communicators don't understand this new concept. So, what is the GCIS doing to make sure that good standards are set and adhered to, and what effective communication training programmes are in place to reach the desired standards?
To overcome some of these weaknesses, I would like to propose three recommendations: Firstly, the GCIS should ensure uniformity in the delivery of government's core messages by assuming overall command and control of government communications. This concept of command and control is a military concept, but if you want to get an effective communications machinery in place, you've got to exercise overall control over the process.
Secondly, the GCIS must make government communication more professional within the system by introducing standard practices of communication, tailoring the qualification requirements for government communicators and insisting on participation in regular communication skills training programmes at all levels of government.
Thirdly, the GCIS mechanism for co-ordination needs to be revised so that it allows for the co-ordination and imparting of core messages rather than just the co-ordination of communication structures. I think up until now we've been trying to get the structures in place in order to meet and co- ordinate, but what I'm suggesting is that we must get co-ordination over the message content rather than just at the structural level.
On the Media Diversity and Development Agency, we have already raised in the committee the question of its location. Should it really be located in the Presidency? We welcome the response of Minister Chabane that the matter will receive proper attention in the next phase of the restructuring process.
The MDDA is generally a well-run outfit with sound financial control measures, but I still want to ask one important question about the MDDA: Are we getting the best returns on our investment in the MDDA? Where and just how extensive is the diversity of our media? After 15 years do we really have a diverse media system in our country? How do we know that media development is actually occurring? Even without a monitoring and evaluation system in place, surely we should by now have journalists emerging from the MDDA system of training and development who should be able to take their rightful place in the big media institutions of our country. If we cannot answer these questions, I think we should review our entire approach to media diversity and development in this country.
We've heard the Minister say, and he also told us in the committee, that the GCIS is undertaking an overall review of its systems and operations. This review is both timely and appropriate. We hope that its findings and the recommendations will be presented to the committee in the very near future. At the same time we can say with confidence and pride that the GCIS has made headway in developing a durable and transparent Government Communication and Information System that is so vital in an emerging democracy. Therefore the ANC supports this Vote. [Applause.]