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Days after the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) pulled the plug on Radio Zibonele for “failing” to renew its broadcasting licence, the station’s Chief Executive Officer Mawande Jara announced his departure.
Jara announced on social media that he will be leaving the embattled radio station at the end of October.
On Wednesday 20 July, ICASA stopped the station from live broadcasting for “failing” to submit required documents while applying for a broadcasting licence.
In an interview with City Vision on Tuesday 26 July, Jara confirmed his departure but refused to go into detail. He referred all the questions to Mthetheleli Vellem, the station’s board chair .
Approached for comment, Vellem stated that board accepted Jara’s request to vacate the position and praised him for a “stunning job” at the station.
“We see no reason as a board to refuse when Jara voluntarily wants to step down. The issue of the station being closed is not his fault. We’ve been trying to apply for a broadcasting licence to ICASA numerous times since 2018 but we failed. But in the eyes of the public he seems like he failed,” said Vellem.
He stated Zibonele has an academy for broadcasting, a funeral scheme and a retail shop, things that were implemented under Jara’s leadership.
Vellem declared that Jara is not leaving because he failed but because he respects the community.
In a statement on Monday 18 July, ICASA noted with “great concern the unfortunate misinformation and misrepresentation of facts” that were spread on various social media platforms about the reasons for the closure of Zibonele.
“The authority views these allegations in a serious light and condemns any threat of violence or illegal action that may be taken against any official of ICASA as a result of the misinformation or misrepresentation,” read the statement.
The statement added that the regulatory body would like to “emphatically” put it on record that “we have no intention whatsoever to shut down any community broadcasting service license operating validly and in accordance with its licence terms and conditions. Further, the authority has always been a staunch supporter of the community broadcasting sector, whose licensees provide a crucial voice with limited resources, and which offers important support to the communities it serves.
“Zibonele FM’s licence expired on 25 October 2018. Unfortunately, Zibonele FM failed to submit the required renewal application for its licence in accordance with section 19(2) of the Electronic Communications Act (ECA) of 2005. Moreover, Zibonele FM failed to provide proof that its renewal application was submitted to the authority before the expiry date of the licence. The ECA offers the authority no scope to accept late applications in cases such as this,” reads the statement.
“In terms of section 7 of the ECA, no person can provide (or operate) a broadcasting service without a licence. As a result, Zibonele FM is currently broadcasting illegally, and ICASA is duly obligated to enforce the law.
“It is important to highlight that Zibonele Community Radio lodged an urgent application to the Pretoria High Court against the Authority on the same matter. The urgent application was subsequently struck off the roll with a legal cost order in favour of the Authority,” says the statement.
Acting chair Charley Lewis emphasised that, “while ICASA is fully committed to promoting the growth of the community radio sector, we cannot encourage or permit broadcasting without a licence or illegal use of the radio frequency spectrum”.
