By Siyabonga Mkhwanazi and Sibusiso Ngalwa
President Kgalema Motlanthe is to write to parliament this week detailing his concerns about the Broadcasting Amendment Bill amid tensions between the president and hardliners within the ANC over the delay in signing the bill into law.
Motlanthe has come under pressure from his party and alliance partners to sign both the broadcasting bill and the two bills that will allow for the dismantling of the Scorpions and the creation of a new organised-crime-fighting unit under the police.
But while Motlanthe is expected to assent to the SA Police Service Amendment Bill and the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill, he will be sending the Broadcasting Amendment Bill back to parliament.
This is because of concerns that the bill is not in line with the constitution and open to legal challenge. It currently provides for the SABC board to be axed without a proper hearing, and it is understood that this clause will require amendment by MPs.
Opposition parties had condemned the clause as unconstitutional and a recipe for legal challenge when they petitioned Motlanthe not to sign the bill into law after it was passed by parliament last year. The Democratic Alliance has welcomed Motlanthe's decision.
ANC chief whip Nyami Booi confirmed yesterday that Motlanthe had indicated that he would sign the bills relating to the Scorpions, which will pave the way for the creation of the proposed Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigation.
It is understood Motlanthe said the delays in the signing of the bills were due to challenges of translating them into the 11 official languages.
Booi said he did not know what specific concerns Motlanthe had with the broadcasting bill, but said the president had decided to refer it back to MPs to make changes. Booi met Motlanthe last week to discuss the delays in signing the legislation.
"He didn't tell me (about problematic clauses). I am waiting for him to give a full explanation. By this week I will know (exactly) what's going on," he said.
Booi met Motlanthe because, as he said at the time, ANC MPs had raised public expectations that the bill would be signed into law as soon as it had been approved by parliament. The delay had resulted in Booi fielding numerous inquiries from ANC MPs and the public, he said.
The urgency in getting the bill signed into law was heightened after senior ANC leaders expressed unhappiness with SABC news boss Snuki Zikalala and some of the public broadcaster's journalists, including senior political correspondent Sophie Mokoena, about their perceived support for the breakaway Congress of the People (COPE).
South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande recently told a rally in the Eastern Cape that "some of the (SABC's) journalists are sitting in COPE meetings".
Zikalala and Mokoena have denied any bias. Zikalala has challenged Nzimande or any ANC leader to produce evidence that the SABC favours COPE in its political coverage.
He also denied the claim that some of his journalists sat in on the new party's meetings, and demanded evidence to back up the accusation.
The decision by Motlanthe to get MPs to take another look at the broadcasting bill was based on concerns that it was legally flawed - as contended by opposition parties.
Although parliament earlier removed a legally suspect clause that said the president had to consult with the Speaker over the dissolution and appointment of an interim board, there was another provision which was flawed, a senior ANC MP told The Star.
He said a legal challenge to the legislation would be "politically disastrous" for the ANC. He said Motlanthe did not want to sign a bill that would result in a court battle.
Democratic Alliance MP and communications spokesperson Dene Smuts said her party welcomed Motlanthe's decision to send the bill back to parliament.
"The bill intentionally omits any requirement for fair procedure before the wholesale sacking of the board by parliamentary resolution," said Smuts.
The ANC parliamentary caucus has meanwhile denied pressuring Motlanthe to sign the Scorpions and broadcasting bills, and downplayed Booi's meeting with Motlanthe last week as a "regular" event.