GCIS Budget Vote Debate
Speech by Rev KM Zondi MP
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17th June 2009 Chairperson,
The whole country has just gone through elections which renewed the mandate of political office-bearers n keeping with South Africa's democratic dispensation enshrined in the Constitution of our Republic.
The new government has been established and the President of the Republic has just outlined the plans of his government during the State of the Nation address. While there will be continuity of the already known policy directives and programmes of the government, the President has announced new changes in approach and intent. This Parliament has debated and endorsed the general thrust and direction of the President's address.
The whole country is awaiting in positive
expectation the successful implementation of the programmes and
intentions of the new government. Critical to the successful implementation and endorsement of Government's programmes will be the role of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) whose Budget vote we are debating here today.
I want to state from the outset that my party will support the Budget Vote because of the critically important role we think the GCIS has to play in the successful implementation of the government programmes as well as in promoting the buy-in of the public.
This does not, however, mean that we are a 100% satisfied with the current and past performance of the GCIS. We do so on the understanding that the GCIS will accept that there is always room for improvement in the execution of their mandate. For example, I did point out during briefings to the Portfolio Committee last week that while the communication and information aspect of the GCIS at national level were very effective and satisfactory, the communication abilities of Provinces and Municipalities leave much to be desired. We want to once again implore the leadership of the GCIS to attend to this as a matter of urgency.
The issue I would like to raise in this debate is that of the information documentation that comes out of the GCIS. Firstly, we believe that there is room to improve the user-friendly nature of the contents so that even those of our people who are not literate enough could benefit from the publications of the GCIS. Secondly, the distribution system and network of publications and information leaflets of the GCIS may work very well in urban areas, but in rural areas such as the district of Nkandla which is the district from which both the President and I come from, is very problematic and requires urgent attention and improvement.
In a democratic dispensation such as we have in this country, an informed electorate is critically important in achieving the highest level of deepening and promoting participatory democracy of the South African electorate and the public in general.
It is also of utmost importance that the leadership of the GCIS reviews government advertising especially by provincial governments such as that of Kwazulu Natal. Yes, they must also communicate with the public through advertisements in the media, but we must be vigilant that the quality of the contents of such advertisement is not misused to promote and enhance the personal profiles and standing of individual MEC's, sometimes in the political power-stakes with their own political party as the expense of public funds. I am sure that if the political leaders of the GCIS and the Presidency are sensitive to the necessity of separation between party and state, our fledging democracy will be deepen and grow in the right direction.
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