On May 25, African countries will join hands to commemorate the annually observed Africa Day.
This year’s theme — “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations” — resonates Africa’s commitment to address historical injustices borne of the effects of colonialism and racial segregation across the continent.
In his paper titled “A case for community media”, Nkopane Maphiri highlights that “community media emerged out of the activism of pre-1994 SA and was seen mainly as an alternative press, responsible for building a democratic and anti-apartheid consciousness.”
He further argues that this alternative media “was used as a platform to expose the brutality of apartheid, to provide an alternative point of view, and to help mobilise civil society and build political resistance.”
It is for this reason that the Competition Commission elevates the work that it has done through the enforcement of the Competition Act (89 of 1998) as amended, contributing to the ideals of equality, press freedom and diversity in the SA media sector.
In its ever-evolving work, the commission continues to foster an inclusive, deconcentrated and growing economy. Rather than simply imposing financial penalties when firms engage in anticompetitive conduct, the commission heeded the public call for remedies that deliver real, measurable benefits to the SA economy.
One such remedy is the Economic Development (EDF) report launched in Joburg last Tuesday by the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), a statutory body in the presidency of SA.
Let me unpack this remedial intervention more succinctly.
Typically, financial penalties imposed on transgressing firms are returned to National Treasury, but in July 2017 the commission established the EDF as part of a settlement agreement concluded between the commission and 15 respondents in the media and advertising sector, who were found to have engaged in anticompetitive conduct.
Under EDF, the financial penalties were put into a fund, administered by the MDDA, to support young black entrepreneurs, media and small agencies previously marginalised by high barriers to entry in the media sector.
Pleasingly, over the last eight years, just more than R39m in contributions from the respondents was received, of which 30% was allocated for bursaries, 40% for start-up capital, 15% for sustainability funding, 10% for post-qualifications support, and 5% for mentorship sponsorship.
As the EDF is scheduled to end this year, the MDDA launched a comprehensive report last week in which it highlighted some of the amazing industry leaders who benefited from the available funding. More than 80 students received bursaries for educational opportunities that will enable them to contribute meaningfully to the industry in the future.
Of the 37 organisations that received support from the EDF, more than 60% are youth-owned. Beneficiaries across the country received support from the EDF, including Metro News, a community publication distributed free of charge in Mangaung.
While we are encouraged by the progress, we are equally clear-eyed about the work that lies ahead.
Competition policy must continue to evolve as an instrument of equity — and the EDF is a living example of how this can be achieved. The EDF is a reminder that the outcomes of our work must be felt not only in boardrooms, but in communities, on shop floors and in the informal economy.
It must be stressed that this cannot be achieved by us working alone. The EDF has become a blueprint from which creative, collaborative and forward-thinking solutions can be built to drive more impactful change and open up markets for the effective and meaningful participation of small businesses and historically disadvantaged people.
Makunga is spokesperson for the Competition Commission of SA
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