The claim by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) that it had merely issued guidelines on the use of commentators indicated that it was on a slippery slope towards the dark days of apartheid when banned persons were prevented from writing or speaking publicly, the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) argued on Wednesday.
This follows media reports indicating that four commentators had been banned from the state broadcaster. They include two Business Day staff — political editor Karima Brown and Vukani Mde — and Aubrey Matshiqi and William Gumede, who has written a book about President Thabo Mbeki’s presidency.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) earlier said it had written a letter to SABC group chief executive Dali Mpofu asking whether this was, indeed, true.
The DA meanwhile said the SABC’s claim that it has not banned certain political commentators, but merely issued guidelines on the use of commentators required further explanation from the SABC head of news Snuki Zikalala, who is a former Labour Ministry spokesperson.
DA member of Parliament Donald Lee said: ”The issuing of any guidelines which pre-determine who can and cannot comment on a news story is indicative of an SABC agenda to shield the president from criticism. It harks back to the apartheid era when ‘banned persons’ were prevented from writing or speaking publicly.”
Lee said: ”I have today written to Dr Zikalala requesting that these guidelines are immediately made public and that he explain in detail the reasons that led him to issue the guidelines to SABC staff.
”The SABC, as the public broadcaster funded by the taxpayer, has a responsibility to account for any actions which suggest that it is partisan in its news coverage.”
He noted that some of the allegedly banned commentators had espoused views on the presidential race ”that do not sit well with President Thabo Mbeki”.
Some of them were personally attacked by Mbeki just three weeks ago, Lee noted.
This raised questions about the presidency’s role in Zikalala’s directive to SABC staff.
Lee said he would also put parliamentary questions to Mbeki asking him whether any representative from his office approached the SABC requesting it to either ban certain political commentators or to issue ”guidelines” on the use of commentators and whether the president agreed with an SABC policy of encouraging journalists to not seek comment from certain commentators.
Lee said the SABC lost its credibility as an impartial source of news ”a long time ago”.
Unless Mbeki and Zikalala fully explained their alleged role in the blacklisting of commentators, it would be clear that the SABC was yet another pawn in the presidential succession battle.
Meanwhile Cosatu’s deputy general secretary, Bheki Ntshalintshali, said: ”Cosatu believes passionately in the need for a truly independent public broadcaster. The SABC must never be allowed to play a partisan role and form part of factions in our movement. If there is any truth in either of these serious allegations, it will mean that the corporation is departing from these principles, and undermining our democracy.” – I-Net Bridge