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Portfolio Committee on Communications Programme Performance April-December 2014/15 18 August 2015. Broadcast & Print Projects Funded – 2013/14. Achievements. The MDDA cumulative achievements since its establishment are as follows:
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Portfolio Committee on Communications Programme Performance April-December 2014/15 18 August 2015
Achievements The MDDA cumulative achievements since its establishment are as follows: Grants totalling R280 million have been awarded to over 570 projects. Projects supported by the MDDA are spread across a range of District Municipalities in all 9 provinces. There has been a significant escalation in the number of Community and Small Commercial Media newspapers and magazines published in indigenous languages, as well as increased diversity in the media owners and communities served. Community radio listenership has increased to 27% of the total radio listenership in South Africa. Some 2,937 people have been trained in key community media-related issues, such as governance, financial management and content generation. A total of348 bursaries have been granted for further studies into radio and print media. The MDDA has received an unbroken record of unqualified audits (11) since its establishment. Eight research projects have been completed, aimed at providing insight into media in South Africa , eg “Trends in Ownership and Control of Media in South Africa”. Discounts from printers have been negotiated for Community and Small Commercial newspapers and magazines. Easy to use toolkits have been produced and published by the MDDA in specific skills areas, such as Marketing and Advertising, Corporate Governance, etc.
Internal Challenges and Mitigation • Limited integration of internal business processes • Realigning internal business processes and tools • High staff turnover • Fast track filling vacant positions and improved conditions of employment in order to retain motivated staff • Staff motivation and morale interventions • Change management intervention • Transition/change management • Agency to strengthen change management processes • Limited capacity building • MDDA to invest in developing human capital • A need for management to enrol for leadership development programme • Inadequate budget allocation • Increased allocation of the transfer from the national fiscus • Enhanced resource mobilization
Stakeholders and Partners Strategic partnerships with stakeholders targeted at implementing MDDA mandate: Sector Industry bodies • National Community Radio Forum (NCRF) – Partner on National Policy Conference • Association of Community Televisions of South Africa (ACTSA) – Empowerment, capacity building, lobbying and advocacy • Association of Independent Publishers (AIP) - Empowerment, capacity building, lobbying and advocacy • National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) - Empowerment, capacity building, lobbying and advocacy • Print and Digital Media of South Africa (PDMSA) - MoU not renewed for 2014/15. MDDA continues to engage towards mutual understanding. Regulatory Bodies • Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) – Liaise/partner on regulatory issues regarding community broadcasting
Stakeholders and Partners • Signal Distributor • SENTECH – MoU on affordable signal distribution costs for community broadcasting • Skills Development Agencies • SETAs - Media Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (MICT-SETA) and The Fibre Processing and Manufacturing SETA(FP&M SETA) – Accredited and quality training • Tertiary Institutions – Accredited and quality training • Institute of Advanced Journalism ( IAJ) – Accredited and quality training • South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA ) - MoUs with Limpopo Small Commercial Media and Community Radio on pilot project on science reporting in indigenous languages and science education content • Other Strategic Partners • SANLAM – Community Media • Brand SA – MoU to support national building and social cohesion initiatives
Partnerships The following Partnerships are being explored:
Strategic Rationale for Interventions Revised grant funding strategy to be both proactive and reactive Revised monitoring and evaluation framework has been revised during the year under review Strengthened relationships with relevant state owned entities such as Sentech, ICASA, etc Ongoing implementation of research findings, eg Media Co-operatives Research finding that MDDA should consider funding co-operatives as opposed to individuals Ongoing process to conduct Impact Assessment Study
Grant Funding and Non-financial Support (2014/15) Community Media 3 community radio stations supported for digital broadcast equipment through grant funding. One community television initiative supported, 2 community print projects supported 1 community radio station with on-line presence (audio streaming) and 2 newspapers with on-line presence (electronic community newspapers) Small Commercial Media 3 newspapers funded Research, Training and Development 400 Beneficiaries trained on Content Development, Financial Management and Governance. Maintain a database of Trainers / Mentors for the Projects, Media Literacy and Culture of Reading Summit in partnership with the Department of Basic Education Monitoring and Evaluation Revised M&E Framework and M&E template Conducted monitoring over 93 projects (60 site visits and 33 desktop) Summative evaluation report
Challenges identified through Monitoring Processes • Governance • Project reporting and compliance • Transformation & gender imbalances • Content development and programming • Limited community participation in some projects
Overview of the Projects Approved – 2014/15 Community print: Small commercial media:
Analysis Revenue Analysis • Broadcast funders are the largest contributor to revenue of the Agency • Transfer was received timely from the Government Communication Information Systems before the proclamation of the Department of Communications • The Agency has received a 100 % contribution from the government of which 75% is allocated to projects and 25% to operational costs. Compared to prior year, the transfer increased by 5%. • Compared to prior, year the revenue from broadcast funders increased by 1%.
Analysis Expenditure Analysis • Grant cost continue being the largest cost driver of the MDDA. • Administration and employee costs were less mainly due to the positions that were not filled at the end of the financial year • Depreciation and amortisation only accounted for 1% and 0% respectively. • The spending of the MDDA for the year under review, 2014/15 is well within the regulated percentage of allocations. • Compared to prior year, the MDDA expenditure decreased by 3% (R1.7 million) from R57.7 million to R55.8 million.
Commitments vs Cash and Cash Equivalent 2014/15 Cash and Cash Equivalents: • The cash on hand reflects huge amounts of committed funds, as the Agency releases the funds in tranches. The cash and cash equivalent increased by 2.4 per cent compared to the prior year. • These funds will be used to service commitments to the value of R43 million and liabilities amounting to R8 million. The difference between the bank balance and commitments includes also the grants not allocated to projects. • The MDDA will focus on implementation of the revised grant funding strategy Commitments • Commitments represent the project funds approved for specific projects for which contracts have been entered into which await the disbursement. Unutilised project funds are held on a call and other short term investmentsaccounts.
Grant Commitments • Grant commitments relate to all grant funding agreements signed between the Agency and the beneficiaries for from the 2009/10 financial year to current financial year. The funding agreements are conditional in nature and have therefore not been raised as a liability at year end. The failure by the Grantee to comply with the conditions applicable to the payment of tranches constitutes a breach of this Agreement entitling the Grantor to cancel the Agreement and claim a full refund of the amount transferred to the Grantee. At year end the Agency has committed R43 million which is yet to be disbursed to beneficiaries once the conditions of the funding agreements have been. • Decreased is cased by the fact that few projects were approved by the Board during the financial year under review. Refer to abstract below.
