The SABC and its chief operating officer and editor-in-chief Hlaudi Motsoeneng continued to dominate the news pages this week – but it was also the week that the ANC significantly entered the fray, flip-flopping its previous position with a direct attack on the broadcaster's refusal to show pictures of violent protests against the state on its TV channels, notes Daily News. It was also hoped that there might be a ruling from Icasa yesterday (Thursday) ordering the SABC to reverse its new policy position, but this was not forthcoming, with the regulator claiming it was still discussing a complaint lodged by concerned NGO groups.  

The ANC's about-turn is perhaps not surprising, given the avalanche of publicity about the broadcaster's censorship policy and treatment of defiant journalists. Having previously supported Motsoeneng, party insiders are now saying he will be out of office before the elections, but other observers believe he is too firmly entrenched to be easily ousted. ANC leaders close to the SABC ‘clean up operation’ reportedly told Times Media (see Daily Dispatch report below) that heads would roll and no one involved in the upheaval that saw the broadcaster censor news and suspend journalists would be spared. This follows the party's belated intervention on the censorship issue. It claims the broadcaster’s new editorial policies are unconstitutional and should be reversed. The ANC also announced it had summoned Communications Minister Faith Muthambe and the SABC board to explain the goings-on at the broadcaster, and why the policy change had not been sent for public comment, notes Daily News. The meeting is scheduled for Monday. According to a Business Day report, the governing party’s communications subcommittee head Jackson Mthembu said the ANC was against censorship and had never condoned decisions such as banning the coverage of violent protests. The report notes the ANC’s public intervention comes after several weeks of drama at the SABC during which Motsoeneng imposed increasingly drastic limitations on news and s uspended journalists. The report points out that while earlier statem ents by ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa and Communications Minister Faith Muthambi contradicted Mthembu’s, he was adamant his statement was the governing party’s official stance and apologised if there had been a ‘crossing of lines between us’. He added the SABC was a public broadcaster and not a state broadcaster, and had a public mandate on which to deliver.

Full Business Day report

See also a TimesLIVE report  

The ANC rubbished the entire senior leadership of the SABC and its board – but stopped short of calling for Motsoeneng’s head, notes a Daily Dispatch report. It sought to put some distance between itself and the chaos plaguing the broadcaster, arguing that it had not been consulted on the SABC’s decision not to flight images of the destruction of property. ‘Truth be told, we are not happy at the level of expertise at the highest level of the SABC. No wonder you can have these kinds of decisions. The role of the board in the ongoing challenges leaves much to be desired,’ Mthembu is quoted as saying. ‘It is the considered view of the ANC that the various crises engulfing the SABC are a consequence of a lack of leadership at the institution,’ he added. A senior party member reportedly said last night the SABC ‘circus was over and those clowns should pack and go’. No one involved in the upheaval would be spared.‘This (SABC) chaos is affecting our election campaign and we can’t allow it to continue any further. How can our people trust the election results when the public broadcaster is censoring news? This goes to the heart of what we fought for and Mthembu has the support of the majority on this,’ said the member close to the Communications Committee.

Full Daily Dispatch report (subscription needed)  

The SABC, though, remained defiant, saying it was ‘concerned’ by some of the things Mthembu said. In a statement by SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago, the public broadcaster claims the SABC never said that it was policy not to show violent protests, notes a News24 report. ‘The SABC is however particularly concerned that some utterances made are misleading as at no point did the SABC say the decision not to broadcast the destruction of public property during the violent protests is a policy position,’ Kganyago said. According to the SABC, the decision was an editorial one and not a change in policy. Kganyago added that the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa's (BCCSA) code of conduct played a role i n the decision – specifically the BCCSA's clause regarding violence and hate speech. ‘The decision in this context (makes it) clear that what the code seeks to do is encourage broadcasters not to glamorise violence and/or broadcast material that will encourage violence,’ Kganyago said. ‘The editorial decision by the SABC then seems rational if judged in this context. It should be noted that the decision is not to censor any violent protests so as not to glamorise the act of burning public property. The aftermath of the burnt property will, however, be shown.’ The SABC hit out at the media and public for claiming their editorial policies are illegal, saying that all the processes required by the law are being followed and that stakeholders have also been consulted.

Full News24 report  

Pressure, however, continues to mount on the broadcaster. A legal avenue to challenge Motsoeneng’s decision to ban news of anti-government protests has been opened by the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF), which argues that the policy amounts to censorship and contravenes the Constitution and the Broadcasting Act. A Business Day report notes the HSF has launched an urgent application asking the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) to suspend the implementation of the policy until the court has decided whether it is lawful, or pending the finalisation of an inquiry by Icasa into the matter. The right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press is enshrined in section 16 of the Constitution. According to the foundation, the SABC has brea ched the Constitution, the Broadcasting Act, the SABC’s editorial policies, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of SA code and the SABC charter. In the founding affidavit submitted by HSF director Francis Antonie, he argues ‘the policy is being used as a basis to starve the public of critical information pertaining to government conduct and asphyxiate our constitutional democracy’. The report notes the broadcaster has warned staff who did not adhere to the policy decision that they will be dealt with. This has already led to six senior journalists being suspended and facing disciplinary action. A seventh journalist, Lukhanyo Calata, was reportedly charged on Monday for writing a letter questioning the direction the SABC was taking.

Full Business Day report  

A number of former SABC board members and senior executives have called for the appointment of a task team to investigate the malaise at the corporation and allow all employees to give evidence without fear of victimisation. A Sowetan report says an open letter was written by former deputy board chairperson Brigalia Bam; University of Johannesburg vice-chancellor and former board member, Professor Njabulo S Ndebele; former editor-in-chief SABC TV News Joe Thloloe; former board member and editor-in chief SABC TV News, Allister Sparks; former deputy chief executive officer, Govin Reddy; former deputy chief executive SABC News, Mathatha Tsedu; and former chief executive SABC News, Barney Mthombothi. They said censorship had no place at the SABC. < strong>‘It is alien to and in violation of the noble principle of freedom of information and/or freedom of speech as enshrined in our Constitution.’ The former board members and executives said the state of fear under which SABC employees were working was not conducive to good journalism or programming. ‘It has to cease forthwith. The individuals or management found responsible for the censorship and victimisation of employees should be disciplined and removed from the organisation.’

Full Sowetan report The letter  

The pressure was kept up later in the week via an urgent letter to President Jacob Zuma from the African Commission on Human and People's Rights, notes Daily News. In it, the commission asks Zuma to intervene in the crisis around the SABC's editorial policies or fall foul of the African Charter, says a News24 report. The commission's Med SK Kaggwa said in the letter he had received ‘disturbing reports about alleged violations of the right to freedom of expression and access to information in SA’. He said the SABC's decision not to air footage showing protests in which public property was burnt and damaged ‘amounts to censorship and the denial to the SA publi c of the full picture of what is happening in their country’. He also said he noted the unhappiness from journalists within the public broadcaster over editorial decisions. Kaggwa said if the situation was not addressed, it would ultimately ‘infringe on the right of the electorate to receive information in the run-up (to) and during the elections’. He said should the government fail to intervene to improve the situation, it would amount to a failure ‘to uphold the right to freedom of expression and access to information’ as provided for in the African Charter on Human and People's Rights.

Full News24 report  

Claims of party political bias also emerged this week. Former SABC boss Jimi Matthews, who resigned last week, said the broadcaster made sure the EFF received ‘limited coverage’ at the behest of Motsoeneng, eNCA reported, according to a News24 report. In his resignation letter, Matthews said Motsoeneng had fostered a climate of censorship and political pandering at the SABC, resulting in the suspension of several journalists. In the eNCA interview with Eusebius McKaiser, Matthews said that the EFF had been sidelined by Motsoeneng and certain ‘individuals in the ruling party’. ‘When Julius Malema started becoming a nuisance in the (ANC) Youth League and when the EFF was launched ... a decision (was taken) that it would not be a good idea to cover Malema and his cohorts,’ he said. ‘It was my decision…it was bigger than me. It was agreeing with the views expressed both inside the SABC and by individuals outside the SABC,’ he conceded. ‘Certain individuals in the ruling party, including people like Hlaudi, were of the view that we should not be giving Julius and his crowd coverage, which is an example where I should have said no; that was ridiculous.’ However, according to another eNCA report, spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said the ANC never gave instructions to anybody that certain political parties should not receive coverage from the broadcaster.

Full eNCA report eNCA interview with Matthews

Full News24 report  

The political bias allegation is heading to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, courtesy of a DA complaint. The ban on EFF coverage was 'at the behest of the ANC, to undermine their opponents, given the increasing pressure that they face at the polls,’ said DA national spokesperson Phumzile van Damme, according to a BDlive report. Van Damme added that the decision to call Communications Minister Faith Muthambi to ANC headquarters, and not to Parliament, on Monday was evidence of how the SABC had been ‘captured’ by the ANC.

Full BDlive report

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