Last week, shocking revelations concerning the activities of ANC Youth League Spokesperson Nyiko Floyd Shivambu came to the fore. According to a letter published in various news outlets, a complaint was laid by 19 political journalists with the secretary-general of the ANC, against Shivambu. This complaint letter detailed attempts by Shivambu to leak a dossier to certain journalists, purporting to expose the money-laundering practices of Dumisane Lubisi, a journalist at City Press. The letter also detailed the intimidation that followed when these journalists refused to publish these revelations.
We condemn in the strongest possible terms the reprisals against journalists by Shivambu. His actions constitute a blatant attack on media freedom and a grave infringement on constitutional rights. It is a disturbing step towards dictatorial rule in South Africa.
We call on the ANC and the ANC Youth League to distance themselves from the actions of Shivambu. The media have, time and again, been a vital democratic safeguard by exposing the actions of individuals who have abused their positions of power for personal and political gain.
The press have played a vital role in the liberation struggle, operating under difficult and often dangerous conditions to document some of the most crucial moments in the struggle against apartheid. It is therefore distressing to note that certain people within the ruling party are willing to maliciously target journalists by invading their privacy and threatening their colleagues in a bid to silence them in their legitimate work.
We also note the breathtaking hubris displayed by Shivambu and ANC Youth League President Julius Malema in their response to the letter of complaint. Shivambu and Malema clearly have no respect for the media and the rights afforded to the media by the Constitution of South Africa. Such a response serves only to reinforce the position that the motive for leaking the so-called dossier was not a legitimate concern, but an insolent effort to intimidate and bully a journalist who had exposed embarrassing information about the youth league president.
We urge the ANC as a whole to reaffirm its commitment to media freedom and other constitutional rights we enjoy as a country.
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Juornos claim that ANCYL is trying to divet our attention to the real issue of Malema. Are’nt they trying to do the same on the issue of all juornos who aqcuire their wealth through doggy reporting??????????????
Fellow South Africans, it is imperative that society starts standing up for what is right. Herewith we have an opportunity for a small win against a movement that is doing us all harm. We forget that noise in the media creates perceived power when untouched and does extreme harm in more ways than one. For a start, in running my own business, the sense that the “wrong” do’ers in society are getting the upper hand results in a shorter term focus. There is suddenly a need to protect my family and focus on accumulating cash. My employees then experience the negative side of more ruthless short term thinking, a selfish decision making operandi and a resultant business with a limited shelf life. I justify this by needing to protect, by comforting myself that they voted these “wrong” do’ers into power and must therefore accept the consequences of my short term thinking. Further consequences is a need to avoid tax under all circumstances, to disinvest in a country led by “wrong” do’ers and emigrate my assets as soon as possible. Again the people who will suffer will be the poor. A important tool to avoid “wrong” do’ers in power is to allow the media their voice in order for society to judget its leaders fairly. Let us fight for this small win in a war that may prove o be more significant than apartheid asthe enemy is not as clear. SA let us evolve!
Dear Mkhulu, but does your perception make the other wrongs right? How has your comment made us a better country, should we ignore all wrongs as a result of a possible hidden agenda? Should we have ignored apartheid because the freedom fighters may have merely wanted power to milk the state of its assets – as is happening today? No of course not, instead we should fight for what is right and ensure each day we improve the standard of living of all South Africans. This may be in the form of opportunity, state of mind, freedom to walk our streets without fear, financial, basic sanitation and many other examples. Let us be one voice against what is wrong, rather than living in the mess created because of “maybe’s”
COnsider for a moment that journalism has been corrupted to its very core and that maybe we should sit up and take notice. Consider that the business logic imposed on media by their shareholders has turned journalism to churnalism only because of the bottom line.
If one does an analysis of the ‘news’ how much of these are from unnamed sources, leaks or sheer dishonesty. If Public has no recourse to verify the sources then what makes us think that editors or managers verify facts or sources. If news has got to be churned out by some unknown deadline then pray convince me they have stringent quality control. The death knell has been sounded on media and this is long overdue. No longer must we endure these charlatans who routinely have lied, despite their vociferous protestations. SO why must anyone believe them now, when their only natural duty was to be honest. But what have they done? They have failed this country and they have failed this once noble trade. Noting the grand silence on all that is gross human rights violations especially in the Western Cape, is a bribe to pay for a leak, that far-fetched? I dont think so! They are in the grips of the rules of production. No longer should they have free licence to churn news to satisfy their shareholders!
The ANCYL have not NAMED the journos they accuse of taking money to spin stories but the fact that the ANCYL claims it to be true–without offering proof or even identifying the journos they SUSPECT of wrong doing– is supposed to be enough for us to accept the allegations. How absurd is that?
But we shouldn’t be surprised. Today Minister of Defence Sisulu refused to investigate Paul Ngobenyi or any of her staff despite the existence of US arrest warrants against Ngobenyi and the publication of NINE successive ‘qualified audits’ of her Ministry by the Auditor General! What more proof do the ANC and Mininster Sisulu need to justify an investigation? To add insult to injury Sisulu failed to appear before SCOPA to explain those ‘qualified audits’.
On top of this, Zuma has refused to authorise investigations of Malema’s sudden wealth and amazing success at winning Limpopo tenders because “No one has come to me (Zuma) with evidence of wrongdoing”!!! As though a ‘smoking gun’ isn’t enough! Malema lives way beyond his means as President of the ANCYL but the President does not feel he has an obligation to investigate–despite his support less than a month ago for the ‘lifestyle audits’ demanded by NUMSA and a large proportion of the population.
How convenient that the ANC/YL decides that there is never enough evidence to justify investigating the most blatant cases of corruption as in dropping of the Hlongwane. “ANC saying it makes it true.”
Whatever is written and then read by you, you are entitled to interpret as you choose. No one forces you to buy a newspaper, Kitty Kat.
Sources request anonymity when they are SCARED to reveal themselves.
Much of what the ANCYL is saying and doing is divisive; we’ll be back in the apartheid era in no time if it is allowed to continue.