The Media, Youth and Culture Committee (MYCC) headed by its Chairperson Hon. Wavel Woodcock met with the chairperson of the Board of the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Mr. Gerard Lafortune, accompanied by the Ceo and Deputy Ceo of SBC, Mr. Berard Dupres and Ms. Cindy Wirtz, respectively on Thursday 3rd February 2022.
The aim of the meeting was to have an overview of the progress the organization has made in recent years and the challenges it faces in carrying out its mandate of reporting, entertaining, and informing its audience. The meeting was also a point of discussion on ways that both parties can better understand how they can help each other in the line of providing and presenting information in an accessible and attractive way.
Furthermore, the meeting was also a foundation to strengthen the ties between the SBC and the MYCC. The chairperson of the board of SBC, Mr. Gerard Lafortune, explained that he welcomes such initiatives as the Board had requested a meeting with the legislative branch of government. He stated further that this shows that the National Assembly is engaged in discussing ways to better improve the production of the National broadcaster.
Many points were raised in regards to the constraints and difficulties the organization faces especially with staffing and attracting new professionals within the broadcasting industry. On the other hand, Members present commended SBC for work that has been carried out with some key improvements despite a lack of professionals within some key areas. On this note, the committee Members emphasized that there was a necessity to be impartial, fair, and balanced when reporting on any news item.
One key question raised during the meeting was the lack of local content on its platform and many suggestions were made on how to better address this matter. On this note, it was agreed by both parties that there has been slight progress but there is much work to be done to achieve the target of fair and balanced reporting. In addition, the Members also stressed the need for SBC to conduct good capacity building and identify new avenues of how to attract more potential professionals in respective fields, especially in journalism.
The representatives of SBC also outlined several ideas that can help the broadcaster in terms of funding, so as not to depend entirely on the government budget for their operations, and even more now that SBC is expected to have a larger budget once they move to their new SBC House. One idea in particular highlighted by the CEO, Mr. Dupres was the introduction of OTT (OVER THE TOP) a streaming service that delivers content over the internet at a subscription fee.
The Members present had the opportunity to ask specific questions relating to pertinent issues and also obtained clarification in terms of policies in place for an effective framework to govern SBC as the national broadcaster.
To conclude the meeting, the Chair of the MYCC reiterated the support of the Committee towards the SBC and stressed the need for more discussions between the two parties going forward. As the world revolves around new technologies and different democratic dimensions, there will be a need for more engagement between the SBC and branches of Government. The Chair thanked the representatives of SBC for meeting with the Committee and mentioned that they look forward to future discussions.
Also present at the meeting was the Leader of Government Business, Hon. Bernard Georges, Chief Whip LDS Caucus, Hon. Sandy Arissol, Vice-Chairperson of the MYCC Hon. Phillip Arrissol, other Members of the Committee present were Hon. Naddy Zialor, Hon. Jany Letourdi and Hon. Kelly Samynadin.
