Independent Media has issued the following statement in response to the 'cautionary' issued by the Ministry of Public Enterprises following questions posed by The Sunday Independent journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika.
Independent Media finds the "cautionary" issued by the Ministry of Public Enterprises in response to questions from one of its Sunday newspapers, The Sunday Independent, highly extraordinary.
Instead of simply responding to the questions posed by the journalist, or indicating that they do not have sufficient time to respond, the Ministry has chosen, via the cautionary, to publicly attack and defame the journalist, Mr Mzilikazi wa Afrika, Independent Media as well as its owner, Dr Iqbal Survé, who is currently travelling abroad.
It must be noted that when drawn into editorial matters, Dr Survé has, on numerous occasions, publicly stated that he does not interfere in the editorial process of any of the Independent Media publications.
As its thousands of readers, subscribers and advertisers are aware, Independent Media has an internal Ombudsman and complaints procedure in place, the details of which are listed in all its publications. It is therefore misleading to imply that Independent Media does not have the necessary measures in place to safeguard editorial integrity.
Anyone, including the Ministry of Public Enterprises, has recourse to Independent Media’s internal Ombudsman should they wish to lodge a formal complaint.
* Click here to visit the website of the Office of the Group Ombudsman, an internal but independent institution within Independent Media.