Johannesburg - The cabinet’s response to the crisis at the SABC was out of touch with reality and showed how divided the ANC was, media activists said on Friday.
The cabinet issued a statement taking no position on the decision by SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng to ban coverage of violent protests or the suspension of journalists opposed to the move.
While the cabinet said the role of the public broadcaster was “vital for the development of our young democracy” it said the “discussion” over the SABC’s editorial decisions should be “held in a constructive manner that would serve to strengthen our democracy”.
Lawyers for Media Monitoring Africa and the SOS: Support Public Broadcasting Campaign, among civil society organisations that complained to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) over Motsoeneng’s ban, have asked for a ruling on the matter to be made public. The ruling was not released on Thursday as expected.
Responding to the cabinet statement, Media Monitoring Africa executive director William Bird said the cabinet’s suggestion that there was a “discussion” over the ban amounted to a denial that it was censorship and lent it legitimacy. The fact the cabinet had not come out clearly on the matter showed how deep the divides were in the ANC, Bird said.
Sekoetlane Phamodi, campaign organiser of the SOS Coalition, said either the cabinet was so disengaged from the issue that it was ready to accept Communications Minister Faith Muthambi’s assurances the broadcaster was “doing just fine”, or, like the SABC board and senior management, it was “equally delinquent in discharging its duty to ensure the broadcaster's 10-year long crisis is arrested and resolved once and for all”.
Political Bureau