OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 11.00am.
JUDGE Willem Heath was named Newsmaker of the Year by the Johannesburg Press Club on Wednesday.
Heath’s Special Investigating Uni has recovered over R1,5 billion in state assets and money since it was launched last year by former president Nelson Mandela last year, himself a former recipients of the award.
The highly praised anti-corruption judge himself applauded the media for their work in exposing fraud, corruption and impropriety.
“One of the (most) effective and important methods of dealing with corrupt officials and members of the private sector, corrupt and fraudulent acts and maladministration, is through the media,” Heath
said.
“The media are the watchdog of society and they have an important role to play in holding people in the private and the public sector responsible and accountable for their actions.”
Since the country’s transition to democracy, the media had undergone a radical transformation, he added.
“This is one of the cycles on the road to true democracy — a free media.”