HAS the reality been bought for R51? The query of whether or not media freedom really exists in South Africa is one that can’t be answered conclusively when one considers the current occasions involving Unbiased Media and the banks.
The reality of the matter is that Unbiased Media’s troubles stretch past the banks, proper to the Workplace of the Presidency.
In a single state of affairs, if a media home speaks fact to energy its house owners are punished whereas in one other, a media home toes the road and is rewarded with a majority stake in South Africa’s nationwide airline.
Possibly one of many the explanation why that is taking place, is that when Unbiased Media’s govt chairman, Dr Iqbal Survé, had the chance to truly come on aspect after a gathering between the editor of The Star and the Presidency, he declined to partake in what was successfully, tried media seize by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration.
The editor of The Star newspaper, Sifiso Mahlangu, when requested about his title exposing Ramaphosa’s administration’s varied shortcomings and dealings, mentioned he was contacted by a Cupboard minister some time in the past and was requested to cease publishing adverse information concerning the administration, in trade for promoting help from the administration.
Mahlangu knowledgeable Unbiased Media’s govt chairman, Dr Iqbal Survé, who outright declined the ‘provide’, saying: “Firstly, as a media home we now have an obligation to report the information and that we can’t be influenced by any politician in trade for favours.
“This is able to be fallacious and towards the values of the Structure.”
Quickly after this engagement, Sekunjalo and Unbiased Media discovered themselves victims of an orchestrated and choreographed smear marketing campaign by detractors of Unbiased Media, ensuing within the firm (and even some non-public) financial institution accounts being terminated.
Unbiased Media and its chairman are actually dealing with the total power of the federal government getting used towards them.
This consists of the federal government promoting with Unbiased Media, which is intentionally blocked, and varied regulators and their respective our bodies which might be used to research, pressurise and oppose Dr Survé and the Sekunjalo Group.
As Dr Survé says it’s all as a result of Unbiased Media refuses to toe the road in as far as Ramaphosa’s administration is worried.
In the meantime, the sunshine journalism seen within the publications below Area Holdings has seen Area’s house owners being rewarded by the Ramaphosa administration with a 51% stake in SAA for R1 per share by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.
Public outcry
Varied groupings within the nation, together with unions, in addition to political events, have decried the sale of a 51% stake in SAA to politically linked Takatso Consortium for the sum of R51.
EFF Commander-in-Chief, Julius Malema, introduced this week, that his occasion was consulting with its attorneys to urgently cease the sale of SAA to Takatso Consortium, which he described as politically linked and likewise linked to “white capitalists” in South Africa.
Malema mentioned they have been in session with their authorized workforce to reverse the deal saying it was a part of a plan by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s authorities to privatise all of the state-owned enterprises.
In the meantime, labour unions mentioned the transaction was an apparent violation of the Public Finance Administration Act (PFMA) they usually have been ready for solutions from the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa).
The DA mentioned it will lodge a proper criticism with the parliamentary ethics committee relating to the failure ofGordhan and Enoch Godongwana, the Minister of Finance, to offer SAA data requested by the members of Scopa through the Scopa assembly on Could 10.
“The Scopa assembly relating to the switch of 51% of the shares in SAA to the Takatso consortium was characterised by each Godongwana and Gordhan being evasive, defensive and cagey concerning the SAA/Takatso deal.
The refusal to offer particulars of the settlement is way from clear and is of main concern for the power of Parliament to fulfil its oversight duties over state-owned entities,” mentioned the DA.
Takatso Consortium’s hyperlinks
The Takatso Consortium contains Harith Basic Companions, which is chaired by former deputy finance minister Jabulani Moleketi.
Moleketi was the chairperson of the Public Funding Company (PIC), which in flip has a 30% stake in Harith.
Takatso is chaired by Tshepo Mahloele, former PIC head of company finance, who can also be Harith group govt director.
Mahloele can also be the chairperson and the founding father of the Lebashe Funding Holding Group, which owns Area Holdings.
Area runs varied information publications together with Enterprise Day, Sunday Instances and Sowetan.
Moleketi can also be a non-executive director at Lebashe.
On the Mpati fee, Mahloele and Moleketi have been at pains to disclaim allegations introduced by UDM president, Basic Bantu Holomisa, that they used their earlier positions on the PIC to complement themselves.
This, as South Africa continues to reel from the revelations contained within the Zondo fee report, exhibiting that state seize has left state-owned enterprises on their knees.
The Particular Investigations Unit (SIU) lately introduced it was conducting investigations into SAA after the revelations on the Zondo fee.
Is there an urgency then, to power this deal by way of earlier than the SIU confirms what we, and Zondo, have referenced that SAA has suffered the identical destiny as Eskom?
Deliberate and systematic sabotage of state-owned infrastructure, that’s pillaged and stripped, earlier than being bought off for nothing into the arms of personal people (presumably even those that have immediately benefited from the corrupt asset stripping)?
Media Freedom
In an affidavit to the courts, Dr Survé mentioned one of many motives of the banks’ shutting down Sekunjalo’s accounts, was that Unbiased Media has uncovered, particularly, the function of Absa, FNB and Investec within the Ramaphosa presidency funding debacle, (the CR17 marketing campaign).
These CR17 financial institution statements are presently sealed, once more indicating that Ramaphosa needs to cover to the general public the function of the funders and particularly that of the banks, in guaranteeing he attained the highest spot within the land.
Since Ramaphosa’s administration got here into energy in 2018, there was a decided effort to silence Unbiased Media.
This can be a blatant assault on media freedom.
If the banks have been trustworthy, (can one say trustworthy and financial institution in the identical sentence?), they might admit that one of many causes that they have been terminating the accounts, is to place Unbiased Media both out of enterprise or to make sure that Unbiased Media was picked up for a music by rival media homes, that may be supportive and obtain advantages from the Ramaphosa administration.
Sound acquainted?
The technique of adverse media articles by critics, using the now-discredited Mpati fee report and the termination, in successive sequence by varied banks of Sekunjalo accounts, has proven that that is an orchestrated marketing campaign.
Maybe if Unbiased Media and Sekunjalo toed the road, they might even have acquired the nationwide airline as a present from a grateful authorities that previously yr, ‘invested’ between R10bn and R14bn within the nationwide airline.
The value of actual media freedom is standing by values and refusing to be bribed as a way to write excellent news tales and to cowl up maladministration, collusion and looting, comparable to was demonstrated below the R32bn PPE plundering below the Ramaphosa administration.
There can’t be a value for media freedom on this nation (or wherever), as South Africa must know what occurs for voters to make knowledgeable selections about the way forward for their private freedoms as a lot as these of the nation.
