SASOLBURG – Several local and national media houses together with government officials and other relevant stakeholders gathered at Harry Gwala Multipurpose centre in Sasolburg.
Presentations were done by different regulatory bodies including Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), The South African Local Government Association (SALGA), Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), and Government Communication and Information Systems (GCIS) on the importance of the relationship between the media and the government.
Opening the proceedings of the indaba, the Executive Mayor of Metsimaholo Jeff Zwane gave a keynote address during the convened meeting.
Zwane pleaded with the media on a more patient reporting.
“We are fairly new and we know as the municipality we are faced with many issues. We are confronted with sewer headaches, potholes, Illegal connection from our residents and many other issues and we are making sure that we are dealing with them,” he said.
“You cannot fight a one-year-old. Be patient with us as we work together in bringing about change,” he said.
GCIS’s Free State Provincial Manager Yoliswa Blom said “We are responsible as GCIS for the whole communications system, from national, provincial and local. Ours is to ensure that we standardize and formalize communications. We also ensure that there is uniformity in terms of communications in all spheres of government”.
