Staff Reporter
The Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) has promised to work closely with struggling media organisations in the Free State in order to see how best it can support them as they are a key stakeholder in the province.
DESTEA MEC Makalo Mohale told a media briefing held on Tuesday in Bloemfontein that his department will prioritise finding ways to assist the local media.
“We remain a government that believes so much in the local media . . .” said Mohale during a briefing to provide a detailed update on the Free State Local Economic Development and Transformation Bill which seeks to regulate key sectors of the provincial economy.
“(Ideally) the support should go beyond advertising . . . I suggest that beyond this engagement, we create a platform of engagement and further understand how best we can make this commitment a reality.
“I know in the past some things have changed . . . but that should not deter us from . . . sustaining this commitment to support local media.”
Mohale was responding to a question from The Free Stater on how the provincial government hopes to make the proposed economic law – which prioritises support for local businesses – a reality when the media in the province was slowly dying due to lack of support, particularly by the provincial government.
Mohale said the Free State Local Economic Development and Transformation Bill focuses on 11 key sectors but limited the briefing to six areas.
These included: the iron and steel industry, agro-processing, clothing and textiles, financial services, communications and digital economy as well as tourism.
The Bill, said the MEC, will be taken to the people for discussion.
“The process (of drafting the Bill) started two years ago. The document was produced following a very rigorous exercise,” he said.
“We now want the public to comment so that their input is included in this process of re-aligning economic policy. No single sector of the economy will be left out.”
The new set of rules is aimed at regulating participation in strategic sectors of the provincial economy which will see locals being prioritised in setting up businesses.