Youth League calls on SABC for fair coverage of Egypt

Calls for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to provide fair, balanced and effective coverage of the political situation in Egypt were made by the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) on Wednesday.

“As one of the biggest broadcasters in the African continent, the SABC carries a responsibility to tell African stories and political developments in a fair and balanced manner,” ANCYL spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said.

He said in a statement that the SABC’s failure to do so opens space for “biased and politically motivated broadcasters to infuse their perspectives and political agendas” of their countries in the coverage.

“The reality is that thus far, South Africa and many countries in Africa have not received a fair and balanced perspective of the political situation in Egypt ... ,” Shivambu said.

He said it was because the news agencies, particularly broadcasters from the West, were portraying what was suitable for their countries’ political agendas and “misleading many people of the real political situation on the ground”.

The SABC should appreciate that South Africa carries a responsibility at all times to provide leadership to the African continent and should never be oblivious to political currents that swept throughout the continent.

“This therefore places a responsibility on the SABC to at all times provide fair, balanced and progressive coverage of political developments in Africa and source balanced, fair and progressive commentaries on what is obtaining.”

The SABC should therefore send a dedicated team of reporters to Egypt and Sudan to provide coverage of political developments in those countries to ensure that the people of South Africa were not mislead by Western broadcasters and news agencies, Shivambu said.—Sapa