The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KZN complained that the Broadcaster allowed the MEC of COGTA (KwaZulu-Natal) to comment on a dispute with the DA without giving the party the opportunity to present an opposing point of view in the same programme or in a subsequent programme. Before deciding on the merits of the complaint, the Tribunal was informed that the programme concerned was sponsored by Government. This brought the programme within the definition of “advertisement” as defined in Independent Broadcasting Authority (Advertising, Infomercials and Programme Sponsorship) Regulations, 1999. In terms of the regulations it was for the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to decide whether jurisdiction in respect of the complaint resides with the Complaints and Compliance Committee (CCC) of ICASA or the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The BCCSA has therefore no jurisdiction to decide this matter and the complaint is referred to ICASA.
