CAPE TOWN - More than 100 organisations from across the country are uniting to challenge government’s alleged plans to disconnect the analogue TV signal of over 14 million people on March 31.
The organisations will be gathering at the People’s Assembly to #SaveFreeTV at 10am on Thursday in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, as well as online.
Sthe Khuluse, from the Right2Know Campaign said millions of people including the most marginalised would lose access to vital news, information and education.
“Free TV is critical to enabling our rights to free expression and access to information,” said Khuluse.
People’s Media Consortium spokesperson Hassan Logart added that the communication system would now be further “privatised”.
While SOS Coalition’s Rehad Desai added: “It is hard to see how the SABC, the public broadcaster, will survive when they lose over a third of their audience overnight and this is a blow to democracy we cannot stand for.”
For Mfuleni extension 6 resident, Zanele Nkondla who still uses analogue television, this felt like she would be losing a vital part of her life in the form of access to information.
“I depend on grant money, this TV was bought by my son who is in Bloemfontein now. I can't afford the modern TV because I have grandchildren to feed and also to do few things in my house. If the government is really going to disconnect our signals then my question is have they considered people like me? Or we don't add value to our economy? All I watch from TV is just news then obviously my grandchildren watch soapies and others watch cartoons. The government should consider this because a lot of us will be affected,” said Nkondla.
Meanwhile the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies spokesperson Frans Mthombeni, said it was misinformation.
“The misinformation seeks to create unnecessary anxiety about the end of dual illumination period and the gazetted analogue switch-off date of March 31 2022. The claim that 14 million South Africans are going to lose free-to-air television on March 31 2022 are preponderance at best and a figment of imagination at worst. Since October 2021, the Minister has been briefing South Africans about the process towards completing digital migration in South Africa. The facts that have been presented to South Africans before and remain applicable.”
The Cape Town event takes place at the Isivivana Centre, 8 Mzala Street, Khayelitsha.
Cape Times