Following a number of issues identified from cases filed with the SMC, the Commission has recognised gaps within its Act that limits its powers to take the necessary action. This, especially in the event that there is serious violation against its Code of Conduct or other laws.
The Commission has identified that some of the powers are in the hands of the Seychelles Licensing Authority, and that in the event that the SMC would want to take action with a media house, it has to in turn, file a complaint with the Licensing Authority. The complaint will need to be filed in accordance with a particular section the SLA Act, a condition or a regulation which unfortunately, none are currently in place.
These matters where part of the agenda of the meeting between SMC and the SLA. The SMC CEO explained that whilst the SMC does not wish to infringe on freedom of the press, it needs to take into consideration the limitation of its powers and the type of actions that are to be taken when there is a serious breach against the Code of Conduct or other laws.
The discussion also touched on Clause 5 (1) of the SLA Regulation, which states that only the Department of Information and the Department of Defence are to be consulted when an application has been filed, as the SMC is the guardian of the Code of Conduct and will be the one body that will have the most interaction with the media body, once set up. The SMC is proposing that it be included in this Section of the law.