Several vehicles of the South African Police Service (SAPS) were on Monday deployed to regulatory authority Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) as activists arrived to picket over the closure of pay TV platform StarSat.
IOL observed several marked SAPS bakkies with armed police officers, and another police van stationed outside the Eco Point office park.
Security guards at the main entrance said they had been told to block journalists from entering the premises, when five protesters were escorted by police into the premises.
One of the picket organisers, Felicia April said the represents an organisation called the Rejected Cornerstone Foundation and is also a member of the Patriotic Alliance. She was wearing a Patriotic Alliance t-shirt bearing the face of PA leader, Gayton McKenzie who is also Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture.
“We are here today because there is 600 employees of StarSat who are going to be unemployed once the company is shut down. We are going through a tough time as a country, the economy is a mess, and we can’t have people losing their jobs over things like this,” April told IOL.
“Families are going to be jobless, they are going to suffer — it’s just a lot.”
April emphasised that their picket is about the job loss effect of the Icasa actions.
“The effect is going to be huge obviously. People are going to be homeless, kids are going to be hungry, cars are going to be repossessed. It’s a huge impact on people’s lives. It’s a huge impact,” she said.
April said through the SAPS members, the Icasa officials had requested that five activists be brought in.
“We are going to tell them — they need to review their decision. I don’t think anything is too hard. We are speaking about people, we are speaking about lives. This is not a game, a chess game where you just move. It is people’s lives we are talking about. They must have some humanity in them,” said April.
“I am hoping to tap into the humanity of them so that they can review their decision.”
Asked about her personal opinion on the closure of StarSat, April said the move is sinister.
“As you know, South Africa is good on corruption. It is my opinion. I think they want one broadcaster which is DSTV. They want to give DSTV exclusive rights. They want to cut all other broadcasters which is not fair,” she said.
Last week, IOL published an opinion piece by communications specialist and founder of social enterprise start-up Higher Education Media, Edwin Naidu who argued that the “hardline approach” and haste by regulatory authority Icasa to shut down pay TV platform StarSat are almost inexplicable.
“It can also be described as ham-fisted. Earlier this month, a delegation led by President Cyril Ramaphosa tried to persuade the Chinese government and businesses for greater investment in South Africa while at the same time, Icasa seems hell-bent on shutting down StarSat in which China’s StarTimes has a $25 million investment. It’s a case of the left hand not being in sync with the right,” said Naidu.
He added that the non-renewal of the On Digital Media (ODM) licence, the holding company of StarSat TV, will have a significant economic impact and worsen unemployment in South Africa.
“Hundreds of jobs in South Africa are at stake due to what appears to be Icasa’s uncompromising attitude toward the broadcaster which has 500,000 subscribers in South Africa,” said Naidu.
IOL reached out several times to Icasa communications department but there was no response at the time of publishing.
IOL