Zukiswa Potye: We need different growth path, print media is in dire straits!

Media Development and Diversity Agency (Mdda) chief executive officer Zukiswa Potye is deeply worried and perturbed, over financial sustainability and the slow progress of community print and small commercial media, as the print sector is hanging on the last rope battling to survive.

Potye said the Mdda Act states that, the entity must be funded through government grants, however with the current fiscal constraints strangling government , the entity has opted for user levies to sustain themselves.

Potye was unpacking the community media sustainability model at the Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, where the Mdda hosted its annual Funders Breakfast and to launch a fundraising strategy.

During its 2020/21 financial year, the Mdda approved a whopping R2.9 million to fund nine community print and small commercial media projects.

“The MDDA mandate is to support community and small commercial media projects as well as projects targeting   historically disadvantaged communities, the support was weighted heavily towards media projects in rural areas,” said Potye.

“For a year, we received over 170 00 applications for print alone, and we reject several applications and only fund six projects, as there’s no money that can be allocated to all projects for print due to insufficient funds,” said Potye.

“You find that we only have R2 million reserved for projects, how will the entity cover all 170 000 applications? is not possible, I had to write reject letters, to say sorry you didn’t get money, as we could only fund ten applicants,” she added

“Print sector is in dire straits. We need print to come back, as the deputy minister is here joining us, we need to advise on what strategies we can use to sustain print media as it is bleeding through its wounds,” she said.

She said the entity will now consult with foreign entities to help with funding, as the Act permits the Mdda to seek financial assistance abroad.

“We now intend to take the fundraising strategy overseas, as we are legally bound to take international donors.

“The main aim for today is to raise a fundraising strategy, we are calling for help from different sectors to assist us with funding,” added Potye.

Despite its financial woes, the Mdda scored a clean audit last year for consecutive time.

Deputy minister in the Presidency, Thembi Siweya took to the podium to announce that, there are potential funders to assist the embattled entity to progress well.

“Government is really trying to ensure that we advocate for more resources to the media space, and we also encourage our departments to allocate their 30% for advertising to the community media projects,” she said.

Siweya commended the entity that it has climbed the step ladder to promote media development in line with the government’s National Development Plan Vision 2030 to steer up media development and advocate diversity amongst societies.

“I am not fully happy my self, that in the midst of the funding we allocating, I think we have a political responsibility to go back to our print funders to go and engage them to contribute to the community print, I don’t want to go and collect a memorandum of a complain which is genuine,” she said.

The entity opted for variance due to the budget for the community/digital and small commercial print which was augmented from R2 million to R3,2 million as compared to the previous year roll-over.

The MDDA Funders Breakfast is an annual event, that is held with current and prospective funders on the Mdda’s key interventions in the community broadcasting, community print and digital sector.

The event was aimed at ensuring full transparency, accountability to Mdda funders and partners on the disbursement of their funds to the sector and other support. 

It is held to account to the funders on the utilisation of previous funding support, and to present future plans for the coming financial year.

This hybrid event was attended by potential funders, stakeholders and officials from government.

Here’s snippets of pictures from the event: