BBC Broadcasts to South Africa (Hansard, 25 April 1984)

§ Lord Greenhill of Harrow
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are satisfied with the audibility of the BBC Overseas Service in the Republic of South Africa.

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces (Lord Trefgarne)
My Lords, the British Broadcasting Corporation's signal to the Republic of South Africa is less strong than we would wish. But we are satisfied that on the whole those who wish to listen to the British Broadcasting Corporation in the republic are able to do so without excessive difficulty. Steps are being taken to improve reception in East Africa, which should also lead to some improvement in South Africa.

§ Lord Greenhill of Harrow
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his Answer, which I think is disappointing. Would he not agree that the Republic of South Africa should be a priority target for the BBC not only because of the differences with the South African Government that we have and that the South African press have, but also because in South Africa there are very many people in all the communities who are sympathetic towards, and are anxious to have news of, this country? Would it not be possible to resume the broadcasting in Afrikaans?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, as I think the noble Lord knows, the BBC's former Afrikaans service was terminated in 1957. I have to say that there are no plans for its reintroduction. It is worth noting that broadcasts such as this on the short-wave band require the listener to have a short-wave receiver and that, generally speaking, the people in South Africa appear to prefer the VHS service of the local system.

§ Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos
My Lords, the noble Lord said that reception in Southern Africa is not as good as the Government themselves would wish, but that some improvement has been made. Can he tell the House precisely what steps are being taken towards improved reception and what are the obstacles in its way, in view of the very strong arguments advanced by the noble Lord, Lord Greenhill?—arguments which are shared, I believe, by the great majority of noble Lords in this House to the effect that South Africa occasionally should hear the truth from the BBC.

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, I believe that they can hear the BBC signals even now; but we are in negotiation with the Government of the Seychelles to build a relay station on those islands, and that relay station, though intended primarily for East Africa, will bring benefits as far south as South Africa.

§ Lord Harris of Greenwich
My Lords, when is it hoped that that relay station might be in use, assuming that the negotiations with the Seychelles Government go satisfactorily?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, as I say, the negotiations with the Seychelles Government are not yet complete. I understand that they are going very well. As soon as they are completed, the construction of the station can commence; and I think that it would take two or three years to build from that time.

§ Baroness Llewelyn-Davies of Hastoe
My Lords, with reference to short-wave, is the noble Lord aware that if people could hear the short-wave broadcasts in these places, they might be more likely to have short-wave sets? That is the first point. Secondly, I am delighted to hear about the new relay station in the Seychelles, but if it takes anything like as long as the one which was proposed for China, as far as I know, six years ago, may we hope that the noble Lord will urge that it be built more quickly?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, I agree with the noble Baroness that it would be a good thing for the station in the Seychelles to be started as soon as possible. But, of course, that cannot happen until we have the agreement of the Seychelles authorities.

§ Lord Gladwyn
My Lords, if those negotiations do not succeed, could not Her Majesty's Government consider setting up a station on Ascension Island?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, there is already a station on Ascension Island which is one of the sources of the signals presently beamed towards that part of the world. It is some distance from South Africa, of course, and a station on the Seychelles would be considerably better.

Lord Paget of Northampton
My Lords, is it not true that, unlike the Soviets, the South Africans are most anxious to co-operate to enable their people to hear the BBC—or the truth, as my noble friend and Leader expresses it; if one can equate the two—whereas the attitude of the Soviet Union is exactly the opposite?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, the noble Lord is quite right. Our transmissions to Eastern Europe and to the Soviet bloc are often jammed.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, while I welcome the statement by the noble Lord the Minister that the Government are not satisfied with the signal to South Africa, may I ask whether he is aware that in many parts of the African continent and, indeed, as far afield as the United States, the signal of the South African radio service is much stronger than that of the World Service of the BBC? In view of the fact that all broadcasting in South Africa is censored and under government control, will the noble Lord assure the House that the Government will press on with their plans for giving further support to the BBC in beaming its signals to the whole of the African continent?

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, the signals which are audible in Africa consist of, first of all, those in three African languages: Swahili, Somali, and Hausa. In addition, special programmes for Africa are broadcast in English, French, and Portuguese. Finally, the BBC's Arabic service has a very large audience in the North and North-Eastern part of Africa. So I do not think we can be accused of having neglected that continent.

§ Lord Hankey
My Lords, as one who habitually listens to the BBC World Service on shortwave when abroad, may I ask the Government whether they are aware that it is often difficult to sort out a relatively weak signal from among all the very strong signals that come from Eastern Europe? Would it not be desirable therefore—I am not just talking about southern Africa—for the BBC to be enabled to increase the power on its broadcasts? The content of them is admirable, but with the power that is used, they are often fairly difficult to find.

§ Lord Trefgarne
Yes, my Lords; audibility is one of the prime features of the work that is currently going on in regard to the BBC external services. We are currently spending something like £100 million on an audibility programme and I hope that some of the problems the noble Lord has referred to can thereby be overcome.

§ Baroness Llewelyn-Davies of Hastoe
My Lords, is the Minister aware that noble Lords in all parts of the House have been asking for more money to be spent, in spite of the £100 million, so that the excellent programmes the World Service produces can be heard? At the moment they fall upon unhearing ears.

§ Lord Trefgarne
My Lords, recalling, as I do, the debate which we had in your Lordships' House in, I think, 1982, when this matter was discussed at some length and a Motion was carried against the Government, I am well aware of the view put to me by the noble Baroness. But we have to strike an order of priorities in this matter, and I think that we have now got it about right.