tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/sabc-30511/articlesSABC – The Conversation2022-05-05T16:42:00Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1814942022-05-05T16:42:00Z2022-05-05T16:42:00ZAntjie Krog and the role of the poet in South Africa’s public life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461543/original/file-20220505-16-qp84fz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Antjie Krog from a detail of the cover for the book 'n Vry vrou (a free woman).</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Human & Rousseau</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When South African writer <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/antjie-krog">Antjie Krog</a> was just 17, she wrote a poem for her school magazine which was shocking enough to upset Kroonstad High’s parents. The furore caught the attention of the Sunday newspapers, who descended on the town in the Free State province. </p>
<p>The 17-year-old had expressed the desire to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>build myself a land/where skin colour doesn’t count/only the inner brand/of self; where no goat face in parliament/can keep things permanently verkrampt/where I can love you,/can lie beside you in the grass/without saying ‘I do’/where black and white hand in hand/can bring peace and love/to my beautiful land.“ (Translated from Afrikaans <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/book/change-tongue/9781770220751">by Krog</a>.) </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In South Africa in 1970, the minority white government’s apartheid policy spurned "racial” mixing and prohibited sexual relations between black and white. The poem attacked Afrikaner conservatives (verkrampt means cramped, but also a political designation). </p>
<p>Die Beeld newspaper repeated the entire poem and consulted <a href="http://www.stellenboschwriters.com/vheerdene.html">Dr Ernst van der Heerden</a>, poet and head of Afrikaans and Nederlands at Wits University, about whether it had value. His opinion was that Krog’s work was like that of famed poets <a href="http://www.stellenboschwriters.com/breyten.html">Breyten Breytenbach</a> and <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/opperman-diederik-johannes-1914-1985">DJ Opperman</a>. More press descended, the poem was published again (in English in the Rand Daily Mail). Her mother got involved in defending her writing. The poem appeared in the African National Congress (ANC) publication Sechaba (the ANC, now the country’s governing party, was then a liberation movement in exile). Her father was summonsed by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Afrikaner-Broederbond">Broederbond</a> (a powerful and secretive patriarchal Afrikaans nationalist society), to explain how this could have happened. </p>
<p>This rapid set of events led to the publication of her first volume of poetry – <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Dogter_van_Jefta.html?id=We81kgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y">Dogter van Jefta</a> (Daughter of Jephthah) – but without the offending poem appearing in it.</p>
<p>That tale holds all the ingredients of Krog’s unfolding trajectory as a South African voice: an uncompromising stance about her own experiences and thoughts and a courage to say them out loud, the instant attention of the press and literary fraternity, and a curious and appreciative audience.</p>
<p>This year Antjie Krog turns 70 and her passions and commitments, forged in the 1970s, show no waning. For decades she has represented the important role that a poet can play in public life in a fractured country.</p>
<h2>Two audiences</h2>
<p>With Dogter van Jefta, Krog was immediately set on a path to become a serious poet, a writer mentored by Opperman and able to produce volume after volume with the assurance that thousands would buy them. But the appearance of the poem in Sechaba and the London Observer gave Krog another audience, invisible and silent for many years until the liberation movements were unbanned and the ANC returned to South Africa. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461557/original/file-20220505-11-tssf15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An earnest woman looks over her shoulder, round glasses on." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461557/original/file-20220505-11-tssf15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461557/original/file-20220505-11-tssf15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461557/original/file-20220505-11-tssf15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461557/original/file-20220505-11-tssf15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461557/original/file-20220505-11-tssf15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461557/original/file-20220505-11-tssf15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461557/original/file-20220505-11-tssf15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Krog in 2006.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">MARK WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At a rally in Soweto in 1989 ANC cadre <a href="https://theconversation.com/ahmed-kathrada-a-simple-life-full-of-love-after-26-years-of-incarceration-75361">Ahmed Kathrada</a>, newly released from jail, quoted Krog’s poem written when she was 17. How had he got his hands on it in prison on Robben Island? He thought it might have been in a magazine. It had so touched him he’d written it out by hand and kept it.</p>
<p>So Krog had become a recognised poet within South Africa, but also a voice of dissent and hope for those in prison and in exile. The two hallmarks of the poem, aesthetic-poetic and personal-political, and their entanglement, have since marked all Krog’s work as she has moved beyond poetry into journalism, into nonfiction book writing in English, and as she has taken up an academic post at the University of the Western Cape.</p>
<h2>The truth commission</h2>
<p>Krog had written book reviews for the press for some years before she became editor of the left-leaning Afrikaans magazine Die Suid-Afrikaan in 1993. But it was in 1995 when the public broadcaster’s radio team was gearing up to cover the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-trc-0">Truth and Reconciliation Commission</a> (TRC) that Krog stepped properly into news journalism. She became leader of the Afrikaans reporting team at the SABC. The TRC was a court-like restorative justice body that sought to reveal human rights abuses under apartheid, which had formally ended in 1994.</p>
<p>Bringing a poet sensibility to journalism, Krog pushed the boundaries of radio reporting. She insisted that the voices and sounds of those affected be foregrounded in the listener’s ear. Journalist Hanlie Retief called her </p>
<blockquote>
<p>a disturbing conscience, an umbilical cord between the TRC and Afrikaans-speakers. She … let the often macabre testimonies sometimes wail, sometimes sing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The constraints of news journalism irked Krog. In a great outpouring of energy she produced a nonfiction book in English which described the experiences of reporting the TRC, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/95875/country-of-my-skull-by-antjie-krog-introduction-by-charlayne-hunter-gault/">Country of My Skull</a>. The book also told the powerful stories of victims and their families. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WNamu1Njkzc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>It was this book with its blend of reportage, memoir, poetry and fiction that propelled Krog onto an international stage. Hundreds of invitations were made to talk at conferences and the book became incorporated into university courses all over the world. The book’s power lies in the rawness of her experiences and unflinching descriptions, coupled with a worldwide attention to commissions of inquiry into past atrocities. </p>
<h2>How South Africans speak to each other</h2>
<p>Two more books followed as Krog took on creative nonfiction, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/book/change-tongue/9781770220751">A Change of Tongue</a> and <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/book/begging-be-black/9781770220706">Begging to be Black</a>. Working in both English and Afrikaans, she did her own translations and brought out more poetry, like <a href="http://penguin.bookslive.co.za/blog/2011/02/01/podcast-antjie-krogs-reads-body-bereft-verweefskrif/">Body Bereft/Verweeskrif</a> in 2006.</p>
<p>Using this facility in both languages, she also leaned on her experience during the 1980s, at anti-apartheid rallies with poets reading in other African languages. She ventured into writing that worked in the spaces between translation, into the somewhat untranslatable. The notable book, <a href="https://www.ukznpress.co.za/?class=bb_ukzn_books&method=view_books&global%5Bfields%5D%5B_id%5D=333">There was this Goat</a>, co-written with Nosisi Mpolweni and Kopano Ratele, took on a TRC testimony that had elements of the fantastic and bizarre. </p>
<p>Krog was present during the testimony and had read the official translation but was dissatisfied with it. She, Mpolweni and Ratele worked on a retranslation. She had developed a preoccupation with how South Africans speak to each other, with how they listen and what they hear. As the authors write: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We became aware of the barriers we have to overcome, as well as the lengths we have to go to, in order to arrive at some understanding of our fellow human beings.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This project has become Krog’s university work. Although earlier she had embarked on translation and transcription projects, they were of her own writing or forays into older work in indigenous languages. Some were commissions, like the translation of former president <a href="https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography">Nelson Mandela</a>’s autobiography <a href="https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/nelson-mandela/long-walk-to-freedom/9780759521049/">Long Walk to Freedom</a> into Afrikaans. Now she works with a team selecting key historical texts, usually in a single African language, which are then translated into many South African tongues.</p>
<p>Krog has been busy with the same work since she was 17: using all her literary devices to get South Africans to see and listen to each other. In my <a href="https://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10539/7957/Anthea%2520Garman%2520PhD%2520Thesis%25202009.pdf?sequence=1">doctoral thesis</a> and my <a href="https://www.ukznpress.co.za/?class=bb_ukzn_books&method=view_books&global%5Bfields%5D%5B_id%5D=464">book</a> on Krog, I summed up the role I see her playing in South African public life. It’s to affirm the literary as a resource for social and political life, bringing the personal into the political by asserting its messy, emotional and passionate dimensions, and by insisting on the very great value of open-hearted encounters with others.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181494/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthea Garman receives funding from the National Research Foundation. She is affiliated with the South African National Editors' Forum.</span></em></p>The famous writer turns 70 this year. She is driven by how South Africans see and hear one another.Anthea Garman, Professor of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1768462022-02-11T11:46:53Z2022-02-11T11:46:53ZRadio is thriving in South Africa: 80% are tuning in<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445897/original/file-20220211-15-vk5i7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cecilie Arcurs/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Almost three decades into <a href="https://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/books/broadcasting-democracy">democracy</a>, radio is thriving in South Africa. Radio listenership in the country is consistently higher than the global average. And it in fact <a href="https://www.mediamark.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Insights-Radio-Listenership-patterns-during-Lockdown.pdf">increased</a> during the COVID-19 lockdowns of the past two years. </p>
<p>This is perhaps not surprising given that radio acts as a companion and that people were confined to their homes and so more likely to tune in, more often. But during the pandemic, radio has also played an <a href="https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/758/217410.html">important role</a> in bringing educational broadcasts to youth who did not have access to the internet. People also listened to radio station podcasts during lockdown, and podcast listenership in South Africa is also higher than the global average.</p>
<p>Despite South Africa’s divisive history, I <a href="https://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/books/broadcasting-democracy">have argued</a> that this is because radio listening provides background texture to everyday life. It’s a social activity which reminds people that there is a social world “out there” and helps them link to it. </p>
<h2>The numbers</h2>
<p>Radio is a universal mass medium in South Africa, since more people have access to radio receivers and broadcasts than they do television sets. In fact, radio remains the most popular and pervasive medium across the continent. This is despite the proliferation of cellphones, the growth of social media apps and on-demand streaming music services. </p>
<p>One might assume that fewer people would listen to the radio given these technological innovations. But the most recent <a href="https://brcsa.org.za/rams-amplify-radio-listenership-report-apr-oct21/">measurement figures</a> show that radio audiences in South Africa continue to grow. </p>
<p>In 2021, about <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/redzone/news-insights/2021-11-11-radio-is-as-popular-as-ever/">80% of South Africans</a> had tuned into a radio station within the last week, with most people still listening on traditional radio sets. There are 40 commercial and public broadcast stations and 284 community stations in South Africa.</p>
<p>Radio audience numbers in South Africa have not <a href="https://variety.com/2021/music/news/radio-signal-fading-streaming-1234904387/">declined</a> as they have in North America, due to an increase in streaming service options. There is, in particular, high listenership <a href="https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/758/217410.html">among young people</a>, who listen to radio as a source of both news and companionship.</p>
<h2>Vernacular radio</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/radio-day">World Radio Day</a> is a good time to reflect on the role of the medium in a country like South Africa, characterised by inequality and a ethnically divisive history under <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa">apartheid</a>. </p>
<p>Historically, South African broadcasting has not provided a common space of public communication, but instead reinforced notions of separateness, in line with apartheid narratives of difference. As I argued in my book <em><a href="https://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/books/broadcasting-democracy">Broadcasting Democracy</a></em>, people “consume” radio, making strategic choices about which stations to tune into on the basis of their personal or group identities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-zulu-radio-dramas-subverted-apartheids-grand-design-126786">How Zulu radio dramas subverted apartheid's grand design</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Commercial music radio stations in particular are still often seen and sometimes even explicitly framed along racial lines. There is a <a href="https://www.sabc.co.za/sabc/radio/">plethora</a> of radio stations in all 11 official languages available at the public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation. </p>
<p>South African scholar Liz Gunner has <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/intellect/jams/2017/00000009/00000001/art00005?crawler=true&mimetype=application/pdf&casa_token=R4Z4BjSYrscAAAAA:q0YoXpLvKaamXaH_LCZqhgDBSR36GzGfVFsWYbdedmh-6YZn1QV0gZIp98-thswfJhEpRXQJCUIS7aKKeA">shown how</a> a station like the Zulu language <a href="http://www.ukhozifm.co.za">Ukhozi FM</a> has been significant in connecting with urban and rural listeners to navigate post-apartheid Zulu identity. Ukhozi FM has the highest radio listenership with nearly 8-million listeners. While during apartheid language and ethnic differences were used as a means to segregate citizens, today these are celebrated as part of a diverse “rainbow nation”.</p>
<h2>The public sphere</h2>
<p>Despite the continued popularity of vernacular radio, English-language talk radio stations and shows still attract African language speakers who frequently phone in and participate. This could be linked to the dominance of English-language media in South Africa and the fact that English media spaces are also often dominant. </p>
<p>In other words, despite the range of vernacular options, English stations are perceived as being sites of the public sphere and attract debate and conversation between a diverse range of South Africans. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445700/original/file-20220210-48670-1ylvmip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young man in bright blue shirt sits in a high tech radio studio." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445700/original/file-20220210-48670-1ylvmip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445700/original/file-20220210-48670-1ylvmip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445700/original/file-20220210-48670-1ylvmip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445700/original/file-20220210-48670-1ylvmip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445700/original/file-20220210-48670-1ylvmip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445700/original/file-20220210-48670-1ylvmip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445700/original/file-20220210-48670-1ylvmip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">YFM DJ Kutloano Nhlapo, 2017, Johannesburg.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leon Neal/Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Regardless of language, talk radio shows are booming with vibrant conversations, highlighting the important role of radio as a space to bring together geographically diverse South Africans to debate matters of social and political importance.</p>
<p>Aside from identity, radio also plays a key role as a companion for people, as in <a href="https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/758/217410.html">this study</a> where the majority of youth said that radio “keeps me company”. Another <a href="https://www.mediamark.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Insights-Radio-Listenership-patterns-during-Lockdown.pdf">recent study</a> confirmed that listeners often see their preferred radio station as a companion and feel a deep connection with both the station and its DJs.</p>
<h2>Social media</h2>
<p>While traditional listenership is growing in South Africa, people are also listening more online and interacting with radio stations in different ways, for example via social media platforms.</p>
<p>Whereas in the past listeners could only access radio hosts via calling in to the station, they can now easily and instantly reach them via apps like Twitter. And equally instantly receive responses. While calling in to a station usually implies negotiating one’s way past a call screener or producer and engaging on a specific topic, Twitter communication is often more casual, relaxed and personal. </p>
<p>Radio is thus no longer a one-dimensional platform or “blind medium”, and this is a key contributing factor to its growth. And radio listeners are able to now communicate directly not only with the station, but also one another.</p>
<h2>Community radio</h2>
<p>And with 284 stations, the role of <a href="http://localvoices.co.za/community-radio/">community radio</a> in South Africa also remains key to continuing to build and consolidate democracy. Originally designed as the “voice of the voiceless”, community radio emerged as part of the liberalisation of the airwaves in the early 1990s. They were a key strategy in the repositioning of the apartheid-state media landscape. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-has-a-rich-bag-of-big-small-and-eclectic-community-radio-stations-131573">South Africa has a rich bag of big, small and eclectic community radio stations</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Like many other organisations in the NGO sector, community stations have faced financial challenges after the withdrawal of international donor funds which sustained them during the apartheid period. But they are still flourishing, as evidenced by the large number of stations still in existence. </p>
<p>Stations like <a href="https://bushradio.wordpress.com/">Bush Radio</a>, the oldest community radio project in Cape Town, still boast an exciting lineup of alternative talk and music content. And smaller community projects like <a href="http://rxradio.co.za/">Rx Radio</a>, a children’s radio project based at Red Cross Children’s Hospital, also play a key role in providing children’s entertainment produced by children themselves.</p>
<p>Radio plays a significant role in South Africa as form of education and entertainment. The diverse and vibrant range of stations is a unique feature of the South African media landscape.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176846/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tanja Bosch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Radio audiences have not declined despite an increase in streaming service options.Tanja Bosch, Associate Professor in Media Studies and Production, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1552572021-02-22T13:17:14Z2021-02-22T13:17:14ZPublic trust in the media is at a new low: a radical rethink of journalism is needed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384988/original/file-20210218-14-fsnk9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C5307%2C3234&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A recent <a href="https://sanef.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SANEF-ethics-report-OK.pdf">report</a> by an independent panel on the ethics and credibility of South Africa’s news media makes for worrying reading. The panel, headed by retired judge <a href="https://www.ru.ac.za/communicationsandadvancement/alumnirelations/theorunion/distinguishedalumniawards/2019recipients/kathysatchwell.html">Kathy Satchwell</a>, was commissioned by the South African National Editors’ Forum following a <a href="https://theconversation.com/journalism-makes-blunders-but-still-feeds-democracy-an-insiders-view-146364">series of ethical lapses</a> by the <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/">Sunday Times</a>. The paper dominated the country’s media landscape for <a href="https://www.newsbank.com/libraries/colleges-universities/solutions/resources-location/sunday-times-archive-1906-today">over 100 years</a>. As the largest by circulation it was also considered the most powerful newspaper.</p>
<p>The lapses included factual inaccuracies in reports on allegations of <a href="https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/sunday-times-taco-kuiper-runnerup-award-revoked--a">police killings</a> as well as reports on <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30597414">alleged illegal deportations of Zimbabweans</a>. Another major story was about an alleged <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/2014-12-06-sars-suspends-rogue-unit-men-after-expos/">‘rogue unit’</a> within the South African Revenue Service. </p>
<p>The panel <a href="https://sanef.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SANEF-ethics-report-OK.pdf">found</a> that the newspaper had ‘failed in the most basic tenets of journalistic practice’.</p>
<p>These failures included not giving any – or adequate –opportunity to affected parties to respond to the stories pre-publication. Others included failing to seek credible and sourced validation of the allegations made against individuals.</p>
<p>The panel concluded that the failures had caused great emotional and financial harm to the people concerned, their families and their careers.</p>
<p>The newspaper has since <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/news/2018-10-13-we-got-it-wrong-and-for-that-we-apologise/">apologised</a> for the reports, and retracted them. </p>
<p>Having ethical lapses on such a major scale can only further erode the public’s trust in the media. More recently, investigative journalist Jacques Pauw’s admission that allegations he had previously made in a <em>Daily Maverick</em> <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2021-02-17-editors-note-on-retracted-jacques-pauw-column-about-his-arrest-at-the-va-waterfront-and-an-apology-to-our-readers/">column</a> were based on distorted facts led to a widespread outcry. It was <a href="https://mediamonitoringafrica.org/2021/02/17/media-release-jacques-pauw-didnt-merely-ruin-his-reputation-he-dealt-another-blow-to-media-credibility/">pointed out</a> that Pauw not only undermined his own credibility, but also further eroded trust in journalism. </p>
<p>It is clear that South African journalism has much work to do to rebuild this lost trust. Not only for their own sake, but in view of the growing crisis of disinformation. The panel’s report refers to the <a href="https://disinformationindex.org/">Global Disinformation Index</a> which suggests that 41% of South Africans distrust the media. And a worrying 70% have problems distinguishing news from “fake” news. </p>
<p>So, how should this rebuilding of trust be done? Clearly not by merely superficially papering over ethical cracks, nor overhauling the well-functioning <a href="https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/com/article/view/3726">media regulatory system</a>. While apologies for and corrections of mistakes are important to show public accountability, journalists should also recommit to the principles underlying these processes. </p>
<p>The country’s <a href="https://www.presscouncil.org.za/ContentPage?code=PRESSCODE">press code</a> highlights the public interest as the central guideline. This entails, aside from striving for truth, avoiding harm and acting independently, the reflection of a multiplicity of voices in the coverage of events, showing a special concern for children and other vulnerable groups, and being sensitive to the cultural customs of readers and the subjects of reportage.</p>
<p>This emphasis on diversity of voices and awareness of social context should be the starting point for any attempt to regain the public’s trust. As the code states at the outset: </p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.presscouncil.org.za/ContentPage?code=PRESSCODE">The media exist to serve society</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One way of doing this is to adopt an <a href="https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/how-a-culture-of-listening-strengthens-reporting-and-relationships/">“ethics of listening”</a>. I explore this in my new book <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-ethics-of-engagement-9780190917333?cc=us&lang=en&#">The Ethics of Engagement</a>.</p>
<p>The central theme of my argument is that journalists must reach beyond their usual audiences to include those that normally appear only on the margins of media coverage. And they must review how those voices are reported, and how they appear in the media. </p>
<p>This approach will result in a more genuine dialogue and an approach that’s more participatory. This could, in turn, contribute to a thorough reassessment of the media’s relationship with the public in a way that could rebuild trust.</p>
<h2>Public journalism</h2>
<p>There are some examples of how this could be done. For instance Heather Robertson, former editor of <em>The Herald</em> newspaper in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province, conducted a series of <a href="https://www.academia.edu/37070536/When_an_editor_listens_to_a_city">listening exercises</a> attended by community members, opinion leaders and journalists. Some interesting case studies can also be found in Australia, where community media journalists, media scholars and activists teamed up to design a <a href="https://tanjadreher.net/current-research/">“listening programme”</a>. </p>
<p>To some extent these projects are similar to the much older tradition of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02500167.2020.1862966">“public journalism”</a>. It provides that the media should address citizens not merely as spectators or victims, but empower them to solve their problems. One way this was done was to host public discussions and facilitate meetings to support deliberative democracy. More recently, the potential for<a href="https://digitalpublicsquare.org/"> digital media platforms</a> to connect journalists to audiences has also been explored. </p>
<p>Applying this approach in South Africa would have major benefits. The country is socially polarised and highly unequal. Making the extra effort to actively listen to voices outside the journalists’ normal target audiences, especially marginal voices, would transform the narratives being shared. </p>
<p>This would help journalists gain wider social legitimacy among those who may feel the media is disconnected from their everyday lives. </p>
<p>But ethical listening doesn’t merely accommodate voices from marginalised communities, only to treat them as victims or as objects of pity.</p>
<p>Instead, it requires a fundamental revision of the relationship between journalists and their various audiences, one in which power relations are radically revised or overturned. A more reciprocal relationship with their divergent audiences would require journalists to let go of their desire to control the narrative, or tendency to listen only to obtain answers to questions already formulated. </p>
<p>Of course this does not mean that journalists no longer have any say over their reporting. Nor that they don’t have to take any ethical responsibility for the questions they ask. The difference in this kind of listening is that it creates a true dialogue, in the sense that the responses are allowed to alter, shift and speak back to the original agenda rather than made to fit into it.</p>
<p>Listening can, therefore, be seen as fundamental to democratic politics because it constitutes a public sphere premised on participation, tolerance and inclusion. </p>
<h2>What next</h2>
<p>The panel’s report identified much larger, systemic problems in the wider South African media landscape. These include revenue challenges to media outlets, shrinking resources for training and for the effective exercise of editorial checks and balances. It also listed the pressure, fuelled by social media, to break stories ever faster amid competing misinformation and disinformation narratives as well as societal pressures.</p>
<p>Linked to the rebuilding of trust should be a strong commitment to support community media and the public broadcaster to add to the diversity of voices.</p>
<p>There can be little doubt that ethical lapses have added significant dents to the public’s trust in the media. </p>
<p>An appropriate response to the ethical problems plaguing the South African media requires thinking about the question of ethics as a more radical project – one which requires a reaffirmation of journalism’s central values, a recommitment to media diversity, and exploration of new practices that can reconnect journalists to citizens. </p>
<p>These are the tasks that journalists need to take seriously if they are to restore relationships of trust with the public.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155257/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Herman Wasserman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>To rebuild lost trust in the media will require more commitment and effort than just papering over ethical cracks.Herman Wasserman, Professor of Media Studies in the Centre for Film and Media Studies, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1315732020-02-12T09:57:03Z2020-02-12T09:57:03ZSouth Africa has a rich bag of big, small and eclectic community radio stations<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314793/original/file-20200211-146678-ef4h7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa’s community radio sector has grown to be a significant player. But there’s comparatively little hard information on the sector. To fill in some of the gaps, the Wits Radio Academy conducted a survey of community radio stations. </p>
<p>We wanted to know where stations are and develop a sense of the different types, employment in the sector, languages used and much else. The results were recently published in a map and some graphs at <a href="http://www.localvoices.co.za">www.localvoices.co.za</a>, produced for us by <a href="https://mediahack.co.za/">MediaHack</a>.</p>
<p>The map allows users to zoom into particular towns and areas, find specific information, including contact details of particular stations, and see how the various types cluster.</p>
<p>Getting information was hard. But we managed to capture detailed data from 68 stations of the 200 we counted as being on air at the time. Though the numbers need to be treated with caution, they represent a first attempt to provide some figures about this important sector.</p>
<p>Two decades after South Africa created a framework for community radio, the sector has grown exponentially, boosted by state support. The extent of this support, not always disinterested, is unusual internationally. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, there are significant challenges, and our information points to major disjunctures between policy and the reality on the ground. A better understanding of the sector is essential if it is to fulfil its promise of diversity.</p>
<h2>Hurdles</h2>
<p>It proved surprisingly difficult to get solid information. Even such basic information as which stations are on air is difficult to come by: the official list of licensees we were sent by the licensing authority itself, the <a href="https://www.icasa.org.za/">Independent Communications Authority of South Africa</a>, was dramatically out of date.</p>
<p>Stations themselves were often difficult to contact, not always keen to participate and often unsure of basic information about themselves. At one station, two informants gave radically different numbers for the station’s overall budget, for instance.</p>
<p>In addition, the survey took place in the midst of the regulator <a href="https://www.icasa.org.za/news/2019/new-community-broadcasting-regulations">publishing new, stricter regulations</a> for community radio. Within months it was <a href="https://www.icasa.org.za/news/2019/icasa-encourages-the-community-broadcasting-service-licensees-to-comply-with-regulatory-requirements">moving to close down</a> up to 29 stations for non-compliance.</p>
<p>After years of a very lax regime, it seems that little effort was put into assisting stations to meet the new requirements. </p>
<h2>Findings and surprises</h2>
<p>We found a plethora of community stations across the country. They are to be found in some very remote areas, although most are concentrated in more densely populated areas. So Gauteng province, South Africa’s economic hub, has the largest number of stations, with 52. It is followed by KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Limpopo and Eastern Cape, each between 36 and 30.</p>
<p>Over 70% of the stations are bound to a particular geography and serve various disadvantaged communities. This is clearly in line with the intention behind the creation of the sector just over two decades ago. </p>
<p>We identified 14 campus stations as well as six entertainment stations. The remainder of stations serve religious or ethnic groups.</p>
<p>What was a surprise was the range of languages spoken. One of radio’s great strengths is its capacity to engage audiences in whatever language they prefer. But the range of languages being used goes far beyond South Africa’s 11 official languages. The languages on air include not only German, Arabic and Urdu, for example, but also languages whose status as separate languages is not officially recognised. Among them are isiMpondo, isiPhuti, isiHlubi and isiBhaca.</p>
<p>The stations include giants like Soweto’s <a href="https://www.jozifm.co.za/">JoziFM</a>. It has a weekly audience of 571,000, which puts it ahead of many commercial and South African Broadcasting Corporation stations, as well as 14 other stations with over <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://brcsa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/BRC-RAM-Release-Presentation_February-2019-FINAL.pdf&hl=en">100,000 listeners</a>. </p>
<p>Many others are too small to show up in the listenership surveys.</p>
<h2>Opportunities for youth</h2>
<p>We were also interested in employment in the sector. We found that our sample of 68 stations employs 2,296 people, 38% of them fully paid, 32% partly paid and 30% fully voluntary. It suggests that South Africa’s community radio as a whole may employ somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000 people. </p>
<p>These are media jobs that are often not counted in the general concern about the decline in employment in journalism. Often, community radio stations hire local youth, offering them an opportunity to learn skills and a route out of unemployment.</p>
<p>Most of the stations operate on a survivalist level and should be seen as struggling small, medium and micro enterprises. Some have achieved reasonable stability, while many struggle to stay afloat. Half of our respondents said they have an annual budget of under R500,000 (US$33,562). Another 32% put themselves in the next highest bracket, between R500,000 and R2m ($134,248). This is not a lot of money to run radio stations with, on average, around 30 staff.</p>
<p>This is just some of the data that emerged. It underpins a picture of a media sector that plays an important role in bringing information to disadvantaged communities, reaching millions in a rich range of languages. </p>
<h2>Downside</h2>
<p>The sector’s growth over two decades is undeniable. But instability is rife, and the ability to serve communities independently of local power holders is low. <a href="https://theconversation.com/local-radio-is-plugging-gaps-in-south-africas-mainstream-media-coverage-116543">Community radio’s</a> isolation from the mainstream media has created an information ghetto that is bad for the country as a whole.</p>
<p>Our limited survey has barely scratched the surface of information on South Africa’s community radio. The general lack of available knowledge needs to be addressed or it will undermine sensible policy making.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131573/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Franz Krüger is employed as the Director of the Wits Radio Academy. The research was funded by the Raith Foundation. </span></em></p>Most of the community radio stations operate on a survivalist level, and should be seen as struggling small, medium and micro enterprises.Franz Krüger, Adjunct Professor of Journalism and Director of the Wits Radio Academy, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1267862019-11-14T15:29:58Z2019-11-14T15:29:58ZHow Zulu radio dramas subverted apartheid’s grand design<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301548/original/file-20191113-77310-2xouqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Weinberg/Cambridge University Press</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In Johannesburg, during the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/11/story-cities-19-johannesburg-south-africa-apartheid-purge-sophiatown">Sophiatown era of the 1950s</a>, gangsters would routinely order a writer or journalist like <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/biography-can-themba-aisha-ahmed">Can Themba</a> or <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/william-bloke-modisane">Bloke Modisane</a>, to recite Shakespeare to them on street corners. </p>
<p>For a time, Shakespeare became part of the rhetoric of the streets. One of the favourite requests was for the revolutionary funeral oration by Mark Anthony, in <a href="https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespeares-plays/julius-caesar/">Julius Caesar</a>: “Friends, Romans, Countrymen…” </p>
<p>This may be because the writer and broadcaster <a href="http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Government/street_renaming/Biographies/Pages/KE-Masinga.aspx">King Edward Masinga</a> had earlier translated and put on air Zulu language versions of Julius Caesar and many other Shakespeare plays. Cable radio, very popular in the hostels and in the townships of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Witwatersrand">Witwatersrand</a>, was the main means of transmission for early programmes.</p>
<p>Masinga’s version of the famous oration at Caesar’s funeral that began, “Zihlobo, Bakwethu, maRomani …” is all that remains in the South African Broadcasting Corporation archives of this rich aural treasure of Shakespeare in isiZulu. Modisane, who wrote in exile for BBC radio drama, would later take the same speech and setting as the crisis moment of his superb play, <a href="https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/c0e9c957c4354c7d9929222f1a94cd5f">The Quarter Million Boys</a>.</p>
<p>These dramas were part of a bouquet offered to South Africa’s large population of isiZulu speakers during apartheid through a radio service that was designed for <a href="http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/media/1997/9709/s970915d.htm">very different purposes</a>. But the original design did not deter the producers of the programmes: they subverted the apartheid agenda and delivered riveting drama that from its first moments produced culturally rich and intriguing reflections of black life.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301308/original/file-20191112-178525-1p3ou1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301308/original/file-20191112-178525-1p3ou1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301308/original/file-20191112-178525-1p3ou1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301308/original/file-20191112-178525-1p3ou1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301308/original/file-20191112-178525-1p3ou1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=637&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301308/original/file-20191112-178525-1p3ou1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=637&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301308/original/file-20191112-178525-1p3ou1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=637&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">King Edward Masinga broadcasts on Durban’s SABC Bantu programme in 1956.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Drum photographer/ BAHA/ AMO/ Courtesy Cambridge University Press</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Something went wrong</h2>
<p>There is a cliché that lingers about African language radio in the apartheid era and after. Baldly stated, it is that during apartheid the South African Broadcasting Corporation had total control of the airwaves, and that the pliant African language stations which the broadcaster set up through Radio Bantu in 1960, dripped out only endless streams of propaganda to passive black listeners. Designed to control minds, and hold back the liberation struggle and the sounds of freedom coming from the north even before 1960, as it indeed was, it seemed the perfect tool of the master. </p>
<p>And yet. Something went wrong. </p>
<p>For sure, the apartheid state was producing an earlier version of today’s <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/fake-news-exactly-has-really-had-influence/">fake news</a>. Radio announcers had little control over the public broadcaster’s standard news bulletins, although a few brave broadcasters tried. At times a reader would preface the newscast with, “These are not my words”, or recite, with a flourish, the praise poems of one of the former Zulu kings, before launching into the doctored news script of the day. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/thokozani-mandlenkosi-ernest-nene">Thokozani Nene</a>, one of the iconic figures of Radio Zulu and later Ukhozi FM did just that, until the order came that he was to desist. </p>
<h2>The communal power of radio drama</h2>
<p>Popular culture, largely in the form of Zulu radio drama, was one of the hidden weapons of sonic resistance that entranced and intrigued black radio listeners <a href="https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/19975/thesis_hum_2015_mhlambi_thokozani_ndumiso.pdf?sequence=1">even before</a> the inception of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233183697_'You_are_Listening_to_Radio_Lebowa_of_the_South_African_Broadcasting_Corporation'_Vernacular_Radio_Bantustan_Identity_and_Listenership_1960-1994">Radio Bantu</a>. </p>
<p>Nearly six decades later, radio drama, usually in serial form, still has a strong following on <a href="http://www.ukhozifm.co.za/sabc/home/ukhozifm">Ukhozi FM</a>, one of the descendant stations of Radio Bantu. </p>
<p>How did the dramas become so important? The sound waves carrying the Zulu dramas, which spread quickly as a genre to other African language stations, became a platform for an ambitious, versatile and talented group of men and women who were script writers, performers and producers, all working in isiZulu, and making serial dramas, as well as shorter stand-alone radio plays or musicals. These ran not weekly but daily from Monday to Friday, often twice, even three times a day. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/33982826/Violence_the_occult_and_the_everyday_a_Radio_Zulu_drama_of_the_1980s_Liz_Gunner_Pages_124-139_Published_online_Social_Dynamics_06_Dec_2014_http_dx.doi.org_10.1080_02533952.2014.984456">They flourished</a>. </p>
<p>In 1986, the famous six-month long serial drama, Yiz’ Uvalo (In Spite of Fear), even had an episode played on Christmas Day. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301319/original/file-20191112-178516-1ilbagq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301319/original/file-20191112-178516-1ilbagq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301319/original/file-20191112-178516-1ilbagq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301319/original/file-20191112-178516-1ilbagq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301319/original/file-20191112-178516-1ilbagq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301319/original/file-20191112-178516-1ilbagq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301319/original/file-20191112-178516-1ilbagq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301319/original/file-20191112-178516-1ilbagq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A family group relaxes after work with the radio in Vaalwater, Northern Province.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reinhardt Hartzenberg/ AMO/ Courtesy Wits University Press</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The radio plays set themselves deep in listeners’ memories and traditions, and became a way to tap into emotions linked to the fascination, strain and pleasure of plots that circled, usually, around the family. </p>
<p>Themes of love, divided loyalties and ethical dilemmas played out in intricate detail. The 1974 serial Ubongilinda Mzikayifani (You Must Wait for me Mzikayifani) was written and produced by Bhekisisa Kunene in the cramped Radio Zulu studios in downtown Johannesburg. Family secrets, rival suitors and a young woman’s strength of character were mixed with a twist of the occult and sprinkled with the poetic language of courtship. The setting was rural, but there was the added attraction of an eloquent male lead who was also a famous football commentator on Radio Zulu. </p>
<p>A few years later, a very different serial drama followed a more adventurous young woman as she picked her way between the advice of female family members and the attractions of off-beat men and noisy taverns. Abangane Ababi (Bad Friends) was written by Abigail Zondi. Power in the domestic space and fidelity in a fast changing society were among the themes brilliantly explored through the 1990s and into the new millennium. </p>
<p>The classic double drama, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/radio-soundings/radio-drama-in-the-time-of-violence/DAD96C0EF6F4AB5FF491DE9A93FED833">Yiz’ Uvalo/ Umanqob’ Isibindi</a> (In Spite of Fear/ The Victor is Courage) by M.V. Bhengu had a special power. Tense and full of eerie sonic features, it ran for six months from 1986 during the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-chief-defied-apartheid-and-upheld-democracy-for-the-good-of-his-people-121771">low-level civil war in KwaZulu-Natal</a>. As warlords ruled some urban and peri-urban areas in Durban and the Natal Midlands, its focus on fear, desperation, family and the occult resonated with powerful public events which threatened to overturn people’s lives. A man, Sigidi, back in rural Ndwedwe after working in Johannesburg, finds it impossible to provide for his family and turns to the occult for help, with terrible consequences. </p>
<p>What was being made through this theatre of the air, broadcast to an urban and rural listening community including migrant hostel-dwellers, was a public intimacy that sustained daily life and <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8a84/c2cae126edc5ebcc12d2c4f7c76466d086cf.pdf">fed the imagination</a>. The dramas were a means of accessing the self in a turbulent and changing world.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301337/original/file-20191112-178502-1s2o6zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301337/original/file-20191112-178502-1s2o6zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301337/original/file-20191112-178502-1s2o6zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301337/original/file-20191112-178502-1s2o6zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301337/original/file-20191112-178502-1s2o6zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301337/original/file-20191112-178502-1s2o6zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1136&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301337/original/file-20191112-178502-1s2o6zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1136&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301337/original/file-20191112-178502-1s2o6zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1136&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Weinberg/Cambridge University Press</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Radio created role models</h2>
<p>Listeners also modelled themselves on the radio personalities who had parts in the dramas, sometimes wrote them or produced them, and in some cases had their own programmes. They became cultural icons. </p>
<p>So King Edward Masinga, Guybon Mpanza, Thokozani Nene, Alexius Buthelezi, Winnie Mahlangu and Linda Ntuli, to name a few, each had a place over the decades on South Africa’s sonic stage. </p>
<p>Perhaps the broadcast voices produced a meta counter-voice to the dominant group. This was a resistant modernity, mediated by radio, producing worlds that were culturally dynamic and deeply invigorating. Looking back at it now, we can see it as part of an important black archive, not lost, but not entirely re-discovered.</p>
<p><em>Gunner is the author of Radio Soundings - South Africa and the Black Modern. <a href="http://witspress.co.za">Wits University Press</a> (2019). The <a href="http://witspress.co.za/catalogue/radio-soundings/">book</a> is also published by The International African Institute and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/">Cambridge University Press</a> (2019).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126786/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liz Gunner received funding from the National Research Foundation for her research project on Radio and the Making of Community in South Africa. She is visiting research professor in the Department of Languages, Cultural Studies and Applied Linguistics (LanCSAL), School of Languages, University of Johannesburg.</span></em></p>Even though they were a product of apartheid’s propaganda broadcasting machine, Zulu language radio dramas proved subversively powerful by reflecting communal black life and creating new stars.Prof Liz Gunner, Visiting Research Professor in the School of Languages, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1160092019-04-25T14:00:04Z2019-04-25T14:00:04ZHow South Africa ranks in the press freedom stakes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270978/original/file-20190425-121216-kd95p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South African politician Julius Malema often attacks journalists.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/Brenton Geech</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s pleasing that the latest <a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking_table">World Press Freedom Index</a> released by Reporters without Borders rates the state of press freedom in South Africa as <a href="https://rsf.org/sites/default/files/carte_2019_en1.pdf">“satisfactory”</a>. Satisfactory is the second best category after “good”.</p>
<p>South Africa is on par in the “satisfactory” category with countries like Australia, Canada, Spain, France, Italy, the UK, Austria and Uruguay. In Africa it joins the ranks of Namibia, Burkina Faso and Ghana.</p>
<p>The index was released ahead of <a href="https://www.un.org/en/events/pressfreedomday/">World Press Freedom Day</a> on 3 May. </p>
<p>The World Press Freedom Index looks at several factors in ranking countries. It examines whether and how many journalists were killed in a particular country and if journalists have been jailed. It also considers countries’ legislative framework as well as national debates about the media. </p>
<p>In South Africa’s case the researchers would have taken into account comments made by the country’s head of state President Cyril Ramaphosa as well as those made by the leader of second largest opposition party, Julius Malema. Malema has a chequered history with the media, openly attacking it at times and <a href="https://rsf.org/en/news/south-african-journalist-hounded-threatened-opposition-politician">threatening journalists</a> on social media. </p>
<p>This could be one of the reasons why South Africa was put in the category of “satisfactory”. While there has been hostility towards the media, no journalists have been killed or jailed. Nor has Ramaphosa used vitriolic expletives against journalists – as US President Donald Trump has done – when challenged. </p>
<p>I believe South Africa is in the category it deserves, though there are some worrying trends that need to be watched closely. These might explain why the country has dropped three places since last year. Hints of these emerged recently with the deputy secretary general of the African National Congress (ANC) <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2019-04-02-editors-forum-stunned-by-jessie-duarte-attack-on-enca-journalist/">attacked a journalist</a> for asking a questions she didn’t like. The other worrying trend has been a rise in misogyny on social media directed at women journalists.</p>
<p>There is an obvious and direct relationship between democracy, freedom of the press, diversity of media, freedom of expression. When democracy gets squeezed, journalists get the backlash. When journalists get the backlash democracy itself is squeezed. </p>
<h2>The categories</h2>
<p>The index has five categories.</p>
<p>The first is “good”. Only a few countries are listed here, and most are in Europe. New Zealand is also on the list.</p>
<p>The second category is “satisfactory”. Again, the list isn’t very long. Along with South Africa it includes Australia, Canada and the UK.</p>
<p>The third category is “problematic”. The US, as well as Brazil, Mongolia and Niger, appear on this list.</p>
<p>The fourth category is “difficult”. Countries included here are Russia, India, Mexico, Venezuela, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.</p>
<p>The fifth category is “very serious”. This list includes countries that have been the worst culprits over the past decade when it comes to the mistreatment of journalists. Among them are China, Turkmenistan, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Egypt and Libya.</p>
<p>In terms of first and last out of 180 countries: Norway is number one, Finland is two, Netherlands is number 3. At the bottom end of the list is Turkmenistan, with North Korea second last.</p>
<p>It’s interesting, but not surprising, that the US is down from the last index. When Trump took power he labelled any journalist who challenged him as “fake news” and as “fakery”.</p>
<p>Venezuela and Russia also lost points on the index from the previous year.</p>
<p>The countries at the bottom – for example, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Vietnam, China, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan – have all variously and to different degrees made it impossible for journalists to do their jobs freely. Journalists have been under surveillance, arrested, jailed, killed and harassed.</p>
<h2>African situation</h2>
<p>In Africa, Namibia holds its number one place, and makes it to 23 in the world index.</p>
<p>Ethiopia deserves a huge mention for making a 40-place jump up the index. </p>
<p>Africa’s two really poor performers are Sudan, which stands at 175 out of 180 countries in the world, and Somalia, which is regarded as the deadliest country in Africa for killings.</p>
<p>In the case of South Africa, the report attached to the index notes that the country’s 1996 Constitution protects the freedom of its very diverse media. But, it notes, apartheid-era legislation and new terrorism laws passed in 2004 are used to limit coverage of governments institutions when “national interest” is supposedly at stake. </p>
<p>The report also notes that the state security agency spies on some journalists and taps their phones. Others are harassed and subjected to intimidation campaigns if they try to cover certain subjects involving the governing ANC, government finances, the redistribution of land to the black population or corruption. </p>
<p>It notes that an increase in abusive language and hate speech against journalists by an opposition leader in 2018 confirmed that press freedom has yet to be consolidated in South Africa.</p>
<h2>What’s needed</h2>
<p>For democracy to work, the press has to be free – both independent of political party interference as well as free from commercial conflicts of interests as far as possible. Journalists must serve the interests of the public and be conduits of reliable information. </p>
<p>This is an important function. The free flow of information is vital, particularly on the eve of a national election.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Glenda Daniels receives funding from the NRF. She is affiliated with the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef), where she is a Council member and chairs the Ethics and Diversity committee. </span></em></p>For democracy to work, the press has to be free.Glenda Daniels, Associate Professor in Media Studies, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1126222019-02-28T14:32:44Z2019-02-28T14:32:44ZSouth Africa gets help tracking down social media predators ahead of poll<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261200/original/file-20190227-150702-15xlxhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A man makes his mark in South Africa's general elections on May 7, 2014. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Ihsaan Haffejee</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Can South Africa really hold a general election on the 8th of May in a way that it really represents the views of its people? One might have thought this was an academic question. The Electoral Commission of South Africa is well respected and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-electoral-body-has-its-work-cut-out-to-ensure-legitimate-2019-poll-103643">legal system is robust</a>. There are certainly enough political parties – <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2019-01-10-84-new-political-parties-hoping-for-your-vote-in-may-elections/">around 285 are registered</a> even if most are unlikely to participate in the May elections – for the national and nine provincial legislatures. </p>
<p>But there have been worrying signs about the use of disinformation during previous elections and these need <a href="https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2014/06/south-africa/">to be heeded.</a></p>
<p>Google is deploying some of its vast resources to train political parties, journalists and editors how to spot and fight fake news. This is part of a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/20/17142788/google-news-initiative-fake-news-journalist-subscriptions">$300 million international initiative</a> it announced in March last year that has three objectives. To “highlight accurate journalism while fighting misinformation, particularly during breaking news events, to "help news sites continue to grow from a business perspective”, and finally to “create new tools to help journalists do their jobs.” </p>
<p>Mich Atagana, communications manager of Google South Africa, says their work will involve protection against attacks on websites of political parties, but will also find ways of preventing the spread of disinformation. The company works through a system of “flaggers”, she <a href="https://youtube.googleblog.com/2016/09/growing-our-trusted-flagger-program.html">explained</a>, who are trained to spot misinformation. If they do, they can contact Google which then takes action. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We can easily de-monetise the website and take away the ranking. We can make sure it does not show up on Google search</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Google will have up to nine staff working on their programme in the run-up to the election. They will be working with sites like <a href="https://africacheck.org/">Africa Check</a> to allow the public to assess which news is true and which is not. </p>
<p>These initiatives are far from a perfect solution. But they are a start, and they are badly needed.</p>
<h2>Disinformation</h2>
<p>During the 2016 local elections the country’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), ran a <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/exclusive-the-ancs-r50m-election-black-ops-20170124">“black ops room”</a> to push out disinformation. The party spent R50 million (£2.75 million) on the operation. Its work included putting out fake posters, purportedly from opposition parties, news sheets delivered door-to-door and planted callers on radio phone-ins.</p>
<p>The party also <a href="https://www.biznews.com/thought-leaders/2017/11/21/flooding-viewers-anc-propaganda-sabc">controlled the state broadcaster</a> – the SABC – through its political appointees. This is critical during elections. No other media organisation comes close to reaching the millions of voters in rural areas – particularly in vernacular languages.</p>
<p>More covert tactics have been used in the past. A carefully orchestrated disinformation campaign was ruthlessly deployed by the British PR company, Bell Pottinger against anyone who stood in the way of former President Jacob Zuma. Working for his Indian backers, the Gupta brothers, they popularised the term <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/04/business/bell-pottinger-guptas-zuma-south-africa.html">“white monopoly capital”</a>, to attack his opponents.</p>
<p>The agency was largely the brainchild of Tim Bell, who earned his <a href="https://www.thegentlemansjournal.com/article/lord-bell-pottinger-spin/">reputation helping Margaret Thatcher win three elections</a>. It was only after the internal workings of the agency were exposed in the South African media that the firm was finally <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/sep/05/bell-pottingersouth-africa-pr-firm">driven out of business and forced into administration</a>.</p>
<h2>The tip of an iceberg</h2>
<p>Google will train about 100 journalists by the time of the election. </p>
<p>South African freelance journalist Carien du Plessis said when I interviewed her recently that even if websites are brought under control it will not be halt the problem.</p>
<p>Three South African editors <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2018-05-21-sa-editors-launch-defamation-claim-against-bell-pottinger-over-wmc-campaign">launched a defamation claim</a> against AIG Europe, the insurer for now defunct Bell Pottinger. Richard Meeran, the lawyer representing the editors, made this comment:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This case highlights the increasingly worrying menace of social media backed by sophisticated technology being used to manipulate public opinion with fake information.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>South Africa is by no means the only African country suffering from cyber-attacks. Russian and Ukrainian firms are said to have targeted several governments and private companies, in search of <a href="https://www.intelligenceonline.com/international-dealmaking/2018/05/02/moscow-kiev-security-firms-make-beeline-for-africa%2C108309064-art?utm_source=INT&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PROS_EDIT_ART&did=108257887&eid=381093">lucrative contracts</a>.</p>
<p>The Zimbabwean government is reported to have used <a href="https://qz.com/1325485/zimbabwe-elections-whatsapp-sms-spam-data-privacy-concerns-for-mnangagwa-chimasa/">private data</a> to target citizens with Tweets and text messages. And <a href="https://citizenlab.ca/2018/09/hide-and-seek-tracking-nso-groups-pegasus-spyware-to-operations-in-45-countries/">five operators</a> have been identified using Spyware to try to influence the public from Morocco to Mozambique.</p>
<p>If Africa’s fragile democracies are to survive they will need all the help they can get to resist aggressive predators on the internet and social media.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112622/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Plaut is affiliated with the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London</span></em></p>Concern at the role of fake sites in influencing South African public opinion has been growing over time.Martin Plaut, Senior Research Fellow, Horn of Africa and Southern Africa, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/911802018-02-06T14:08:39Z2018-02-06T14:08:39ZAxing ANN7 in South Africa may send wrong signal for media freedom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205031/original/file-20180206-14107-ndo9td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mzwanele Manyi, the new owner of the Gupta-linked ANN7 television news channel and The New Age newspaper.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.facebook.com/ANN7tv/">Facebook/ANN7 </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At first glance the announcement by video entertainment and pay-television company Multichoice that it will be <a href="https://www.enca.com/south-africa/multichoice-to-respond-to-impropriety-claims">dropping</a> controversial news channel ANN7 from its offering may be seen as another new “green shoot” in the <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2018/02/01/opinion-judith-february-the-clear-signs-of-a-cyril-spring">“Cyril spring”</a> following Cyril Ramaphosa’s election to head the governing African National Congress. </p>
<p>ANN7 is funded by the <a href="https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/1334530/who-are-the-guptas-details-according-to-madonsela/">Gupta family</a> who are close to the country’s President Jacob Zuma and are accused of having undue influence over him, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/firing-of-south-africas-finance-minister-puts-the-public-purse-in-zumas-hands-75525">dictating cabinet appointments</a>. As newly elected <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-anc-has-a-new-leader-but-south-africa-remains-on-a-political-precipice-89248">president of the ANC</a>, Ramaphosa will take over running the country when Zuma goes. He is currently also the deputy president of the country.</p>
<p>But there’s more to Multichoice’s decision than a change in the political landscape. The company is also in the middle of managing a reputational crisis.
The announcement to drop ANN7 was made on the same day that a report was released after an investigation into the company’s links with the Gupta family. </p>
<p>The probe looked at allegations that Multichoice had paid ANN7 <a href="http://themediaonline.co.za/2018/02/emedia-blasts-multichoice-ceo-over-revealing-confidential-information/">exorbitant fees</a> in return for airing a news channel on its satellite platform and <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Tech/Companies/carrim-bekker-at-odds-over-encryption-accusation-of-influence-20171201">allegations</a> that Multichoice may have paid the broadcaster for political influence. The report <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/live-multichoice-to-announce-investigation-outcome-20180131">found no evidence of wrongdoing</a>. Nevertheless Multichoice cut its ties with ANN7. </p>
<p>There is no doubt that ANN7’s journalism is shoddy, biased and poor to the point of ridicule. <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-african-news-station-ann7-is-on-the-skids-why-it-wont-be-missed-91085">It won’t be missed</a> by anyone who values balanced or honest, truthful journalism. Its pro-Zuma stance often led to skewed reporting under the guise of transformation. </p>
<p>From a reputational management or branding perspective, Multichoice’s decision to drop ANN7 from its bouquet was probably the clever thing to do. But it does raise questions about media freedom, political pluralism and democratic debate. Perhaps more importantly, it prompts reflection on Multichoice’s concentration of power over the public sphere. These questions suggest that dropping ANN7 may send a bad signal for media freedom and democratic debate in South Africa.</p>
<h2>Freedom of expression</h2>
<p>The South African National Editor’s Forum has <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2018/02/01/sanef-raises-media-freedom-concerns-over-multichoice-s-move-to-axe-ann7">decried the decision</a>. Their concern is informed by idea that the free exchange in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketplace_of_ideas">marketplace of ideas</a> is healthy for democracy.</p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_economy_of_communications">Political economists</a> might offer a different critique. They would point to the tendency of the power of commercial media to be concentrated in the hands of a few, and to align itself with political power. </p>
<p>From both these perspectives, the Multichoice decision would raise questions about media freedom. The first perspective would suggest that there should be many different voices in a democratic public sphere, including disagreeable ones. The second would question the dominance of one player in a democratic media landscape, which alone has the power to decide what gets heard. </p>
<p>In a media sphere where, aided by social media, we are increasingly able to withdraw into <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-facebook-has-become-the-worlds-largest-echo-chamber-91024">our own echo chambers</a> and “filter bubbles”, it is probably a better idea to listen to as wide a spectrum of political opinions and refute them with sound arguments. Closing them down and driving them underground, or into the hands of <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2017-07-09-twitterati-fight-back-against-fake-pro-gupta-twitter-bots/">Twitterbots</a>, is less strategic than just allowing the public to refute them on social media or vote with their remotes.</p>
<p>Then there is the question of consistency. Multichoice’s decision to drop ANN7 puts the broadcaster in a moral quandary. Audiences may laud what they see as a principled decision to push back at a news channel that defies ethical values such as balance, truthfulness and fairness. But they may then rightly assume that Multichoice approves of the content on all the other channels that it continues to carry.</p>
<p>What about the Chinese state-sponsored channel China Central Television (CCTV), recently rebranded as CGTN? Does it not also present <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-central-television-launches-global-television-network-propaganda-xi-jinping-a7503216.html">slanted news</a>? And what about <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/12/if-russia-today-is-moscows-propaganda-arm-its-not-very-good-at-its-job/?utm_term=.828fe207ba9b">Russia Today</a>, also carried on the DStv network? Once a provider starts making editorial judgement calls, where does it stop?</p>
<h2>Concentration and conglomeration</h2>
<p>Media freedom does not only mean the absence of restrictions (sometimes referred to as a <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/">negative freedom</a>, but also the presence of conditions that allow for the realisation of democratic ideals and purposes (positive freedom). In other words, it is not enough that <a href="http://www.treasury.gov.za/legislation/bills/2002/b16.pdf">South Africa’s Constitution</a> guarantees freedom of expression if there are not enough opportunities available to express that freedom. The fact that a single platform has the power to decide what gets said in the public sphere is therefore a problem. </p>
<p>South Africa has one of the <a href="http://www.cima.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/final_4.pdf">most concentrated media markets in the world</a>, dominated by only four companies (Naspers, Independent, Tiso Blackstar and Caxton). This concentration is <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2016-08-29-media-content-diversity-in-sa-why-is-government-still-asking-all-the-wrong-questions/#.WnjNepP1XZt">not conducive to democratic debate</a>.</p>
<p>For a young democracy, a wide variety of voices is vitally important. It’s true that ANN7 didn’t contribute anything of worth to this plurality. But it’s equally true that commercial companies such as Multichoice should not hold disproportionate power over the public sphere. </p>
<p>This would matter less if the country’s public broadcaster did its job. A functioning, transparent public broadcaster is an important counterbalance in a hyper-commercialised broadcasting environment. Especially in a highly unequal country where access to commercial media is reserved for the minority that can pay for it. The country needs not only to see and hear a variety of political points of view, but also a diversity of lived experiences. </p>
<p>South Africans have not been not well-served by the public broadcaster in recent years. But there are signs that the new board might be turning the corner. The <a href="https://www.enca.com/south-africa/sabc-appoints-new-coo">appointment of a new COO</a> for the South African Broadcasting Corporation heralds a new management regime. The ongoing editorial policy review process is also a good sign. After all, if the media claims to play a role in democratic debate, listening to the public - rather than to politicians and their cronies - is a good place to start.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91180/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Herman Wasserman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Multichoice’s dominant power over South Africa’s public sphere suggests that dropping ANN7 may send a bad signal for media freedom and democratic debate.Herman Wasserman, Professor of Media Studies and Director of the Centre for Film and Media Studies, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/910852018-02-01T12:46:33Z2018-02-01T12:46:33ZSouth African news station ANN7 is on the skids: why it won’t be missed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204400/original/file-20180201-123840-o8za9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Television news station linked to the Guptas faces imminent closure. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The closure of any media outlet is normally mourned by all journalists, because of the loss of jobs, diversity and competition. But the announcement that South African pay-TV operator Multichoice will <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Tech/Companies/naspers-wont-renew-contract-with-gupta-linked-ann7-20180131">not renew the contract</a> of news channel ANN7 will be no great loss to the news media, or the public debate. </p>
<p>It will, though, be a setback to the corrupt three-way state capture conspiracy which brought together ANN7, Multichoice and elements of the government, as exposed by the now notorious <a href="http://www.gupta-leaks.com/">Guptaleaks</a> emails.</p>
<p>The emails were leaked some months ago from inside the Gupta clan. The family has been at the centre of <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/FULL-TEXT-Statement-by-Public-Protector-on-Nkandla-Report-20140319">state capture</a> accusations in South Africa because of its extraordinary influence over President Jacob Zuma, his family and members of his Cabinet. The allegations of corruption have extended to Multichoice. It <a href="http://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/multichoice-cooperate-siu-sabc-ann7-deals/">stands accused</a> of making multi-million rand payments to both ANN7 and the South African Broadcasting Corporation to get their support for Multichoice’s attempt to influence government policy on digitalisation.</p>
<p>Yesterday Multichoice, which is <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/icasa-vows-to-probe-multichoice-payments-to-ann7-sabc-12978072">facing an inquiry</a> by South Africa’s broadcast regulator Icasa, announced the results of its <a href="https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/companies-and-deals/multichoice-says-sorry-but-not-for-engaging-in-corruption/">own internal probe</a>. The company said it had made mistakes, but there was nothing corrupt or illegal about its decisions. Nevertheless, it would <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Tech/Companies/naspers-wont-renew-contract-with-gupta-linked-ann7-20180131">not be renewing ANN7s contract</a> when it expired in August. Instead Multichoice would open up bidding for another black-owned news station.</p>
<p>The night before this announcement, ANN7 had run a piece on air about the <a href="http://www.ann7.com/the-untold-inside-story-of-vrede-dairy-farm/">Vrede dairy farm</a>, in central South Africa, which is part of the police investigation into Gupta-inspired <a href="http://mp3londo.tk/2018/01/details-how-the-guptas-zuma-s-son-stole-millions-with-the-aid-of-top-government-officials.rX-ApAUSpaI/">fraud</a>. The TV station promised to give the country the real story that the rest of the corruption obsessed media were not telling.</p>
<p>The report aired by ANN7 was a clear illustration of the kind of dishonest journalism the station has produced since its launch in 2013. It was unmistakenly part of the fight back campaign being launched by Zuma’s supporters, a number of whom are among those accused of fraud in relation to the dairy farm.</p>
<h2>An unseemly story</h2>
<p>As part of the piece station owner Mzwaneli Manyi, a former government communicator who was gifted the station by the Guptas, went to the farm himself to show that it was not derelict, but a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfdFL58bQIo">“world class facility”</a>, a fact being downplayed by the rest of the media. It was <a href="http://www.ann7.com/prime-discussion-vrede-dairy-farm-alive-and-kicking/">a repetitive piece</a> in the ANN7 tradition of trying to deflect criticism of friends and sponsors accused of corruption and state capture.</p>
<p>There were also some significant omissions in the report. It made no attempt to tell the audience why the farm’s current state was relevant to fraud that happened at least five years ago under different ownership. Nor did it address the issue of whether it was worth the R220 million of taxpayers’ money that went into it, nor why most of that money appeared to have been peeled off to pay for a <a href="http://amabhungane.co.za/article/2017-06-29-guptaleaks-the-dubai-laundromat">lavish Gupta wedding</a> and other non-farming activities. </p>
<p>It did not say whether the farm was profitable. They did speak to some of the 45 employees who said they and their families depended on the farm, though the townspeople they spoke to all said that the politician’s promises that this farm would benefit the community had come to little.</p>
<p>It was the worst kind of sham, poisonous journalism for which ANN7 has become known. It was based on a false premise (that the media were suggesting that the farm was still derelict) and intended to throw up dust around those accused of involvement in what was by all accounts a fraudulent business venture. </p>
<p>One veterinarian took one look at the pictures of cows and tweeted, “Call the SPCA”, saying these bony bovines did not look healthy enough to produce significant amounts of milk.</p>
<p>But Manyi did not get an expert to look at the pictures. Instead the station wheeled out analysts and commentators to repeat the station’s mantra that other media was hiding the real story as part of the grand <a href="https://theconversation.com/white-monopoly-capital-good-politics-bad-sociology-worse-economics-77338">white monopoly capital conspiracy</a>.</p>
<h2>A history of dishonest journalism</h2>
<p>Was this kind of dishonest political propaganda the reason Multichoice not renewing ANN7’s contract? It’s impossible to tell how the decision was made because the company gave no details of what their mistakes were, nor any explanation of why it was not corrupt. </p>
<p>One possible conclusion is that Multichoice and its parent company, the global internet and entertainment group Naspers, was doing what it has done best for over 100 years: move with the political wind to stay onside with whoever is – or is going to be – in Pretoria’s Union Buildings. With Zuma about to be replaced as president of the country by new African National Congress president Cyril Ramaphosa, the Gupta connection becomes a liability rather than an asset.</p>
<p>This is why the demise of ANN7 is more worrying for the Gupta network of corruption than for journalists or the viewing public. Surely in the post-truth age we have to act against those who knowingly purvey falsity? </p>
<p>The closure of ANN7 could be viewed as South Africa’s Facebook lesson: diversity in news is of dubious value when it means polluting the air with dishonest journalism. What South Africa audiences want is more, better, independent journalism – and they will have a better chance of getting that if ANN7 is replaced by another station.</p>
<p>There is a precedent in this country for a media outlet that was born in sin and shunned for decades by anyone who cared about news and journalism: <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/information-scandal">The Citizen</a> newspaper. It was started in the 1970s with secret government funds, with the express intention of undermining the Rand Daily Mail, at the time the most liberal and anti-apartheid of our newspapers.</p>
<p>The Citizen went through multiple changes of ownership until this history was bleached out. But only diehard apartheid supporters would have mourned its closure in the 1980s, just as only diehard Gupta-supporters will mourn the disappearance of ANN7.</p>
<p>What this incident highlights more than anything is the danger of the Multichoice monopoly on pay-TV, which gives it extraordinary power to decide what alternatives audiences have to the public broadcaster, the SABC. </p>
<p>Rather than the future of ANN7, South Africans should perhaps worry about Multichoice having so much power, and using it so cynically.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91085/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anton Harber is a former Editor-in-Chief of news channel eNCA, an ANN7 competitor.</span></em></p>The only reason journalists will mourn the demise of TV news station ANN7 will be the loss of jobs.Anton Harber, Caxton Professor of Journalism, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/859112017-10-19T08:19:00Z2017-10-19T08:19:00ZSouth Africa’s media should beware of being the voice of only some<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190871/original/file-20171018-32367-4rspeo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/address-president-jacob-zuma-freedom-day-celebrations">Media Freedom Day</a> in South Africa marks the day in 1977 when the apartheid government <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/remembering-qobozas-sense-of-duty-1594527#.ViI2CX4rLnA">banned</a> two newspapers - World and Weekend World - and a church journal, Pro Veritate, along with <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/black-consciousness-movement-bcm">18 black consciousness organisations</a>. A number of <a href="http://www.thejournalist.org.za/the-craft/learning-past-october-19th-message">journalists were also detained</a>.</p>
<p>One purpose of commemorating the day is to keep the memory alive so that people are more sensitive to contemporary trends that may again lead the country down the path of repression.</p>
<p>What does the picture look like today? </p>
<p>First some optimism: South African citizens would not have known the extent of the mess the country is in had it not been for the tireless efforts of investigative journalists that uncovered widespread corruption, brought the <a href="http://www.gupta-leaks.com/">Guptaleaks</a> and exposed Bell Pottinger’s complicity in <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-09-04-bell-pottinger-guilty-of-exploiting-racial-tensions-on-behalf-of-guptas/">stirring up racial tensions</a>.</p>
<p>But that’s where the good news ends.</p>
<h2>Cause for concern</h2>
<p>Media freedom continues to face external threats in the form of <a href="http://aidc.org.za/media-freedom-south-africa-two-part-formula-securing-freedom-expression/">legislation, intimidation, harassment and surveillance</a>. </p>
<p>Another major area of concern is that the South African media is not diverse enough: not in terms of ownership nor <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2016-08-29-media-content-diversity-in-sa-why-is-government-still-asking-all-the-wrong-questions/#.WedRZluCz3g">diversity of perspectives</a>. This lack of diversity makes it harder for the media to claim to represent the public. </p>
<p>Even worse, the only significant “change” to media ownership this year turned out to be a cynical ploy to buy influence. This was the “purchase” of the Gupta-owned television station <a href="http://www.ann7.com/">ANN7</a> and <a href="http://www.thenewage.co.za/">The New Age </a> newspaper by their staunch defender and erstwhile government spokesperson <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-09-10-analysis-whats-behind-the-sale-of-the-new-age-and-ann7-to-jimmy-manyi/#.WeYbJFuCz3g">Mzwanele Jimmy Manyi</a>. All it achieved was to give media transformation a bad name.</p>
<p>The country is also on the back foot when it comes the public broadcaster. South Africans are supposed to have one that works in the public interest and acts as a countervailing force to big commercial interests in the media. But, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has been a mess for several years, hobbled by <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/04/25/sabc-board-chairperson-reveals-broadcaster-short-of-funds">financial woes</a> and <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/09/22/khoza-i-m-glad-hlaudi-motsoeneng-is-out-of-the-sabc">mismanagement</a>.</p>
<p>Political interference in the running of public broadcaster runs all the way to President Jacob Zuma. After sitting on the recommendations for the new SABC board for weeks, the board he finally appointed included a <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/10/17/mantashe-new-sabc-chairperson-raises-eyebrows">controversial chairperson and deputy</a>. He also appointed yet another Minister of Communications, the seventh in so many years, suggesting that communications just <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/10/17/media-watchdog-bemoans-yet-another-communications-minister">isn’t a priority for government</a>. </p>
<p>But threats to media freedom don’t always come from the outside, from security agencies or politicians. Media freedom also gets hollowed out in more subtle ways. Even if all the usual threats were to be solved, the questions remain: what does the South African media do with its freedom? How well does the media serve the interests of all the country’s citizens?</p>
<h2>Media as monitor</h2>
<p>One of the consequences of having had to fight so hard to protect the space for a free media in post-apartheid South Africa has been that the media has defined its primary role in relation to government, often in a highly antagonistic way. But being a watchdog is only one possible role for the media. It <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Normative_Theories_of_the_Media.html?id=jZAWo25gwY0C&redir_esc=y">could also play</a> others: a facilitative role that fosters dialogue with civil society, a radical role that opposes authority or a collaborative role that creates partnerships between media and the state around shared interests.</p>
<p>The problem with the media’s watchdog work is that it’s tended to foreground issues that are mainly of interest to an elite. This is partly because of increased commercial pressures on legacy media (newspapers, radio and television). As elsewhere in the world, South African audiences <a href="http://www.journalism.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/STATE-OF-THE-NEWSROOM-2015_2016_FINAL.pdf">increasingly move to free, digital platforms</a>, disrupting legacy media’s business model as they go. The combination of a media oriented towards lucrative markets and focused almost exclusively on monitoring government, can present a one-dimensional view - or a <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02560054.2011.578887">“view from the suburbs”</a>.</p>
<h2>Disconnect</h2>
<p>Research shows that the South African media often doesn’t succeed in gaining the trust of audiences outside of the mainstream elite, such as the <a href="http://theconversation.com/voices-of-the-poor-are-missing-from-south-africas-media-53068">poor</a> or the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02533952.2014.929304">youth</a>. </p>
<p>The disconnect between mainstream media and audiences on the margins of society is perhaps best illustrated by the way media report on community protests: routinely covered only insofar as they present an inconvenience for the middle classes. Attempts to engage with protesters, find out why they were protesting, why they don’t opt for other forms of engagement and what has led to the breakdown in trust, are rare - partly as a result of <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23743670.2017.1292703">constraints on journalists</a>. </p>
<p>By adding to the marginalisation of these citizens, the media is in danger of being associated with narrow or sectarian interests.</p>
<p>Importantly, it needs to be borne in mind that media freedom exists not only for the media but to serve all citizens. The South African media have done exemplary work on many fronts in recent years. Yet, for media freedom to become deeply entrenched in the country’s democracy, it should strive to listen even more widely and more intently to the voices of those that are still not within earshot of the mainstream news. </p>
<p>In doing so – especially in a communications landscape awash with propaganda, fake news and spin – the media would gain the trust of citizens and find more allies in their much-needed resistance to the creeping authoritarianism in South African society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85911/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Herman Wasserman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Forty years after the apartheid regime clamped down on the free press, South Africa’s media continues to face threats, albeit in more subtle forms than in the past.Herman Wasserman, Professor of Media Studies and Director of the Centre for Film and Media Studies, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/791352017-06-19T20:12:08Z2017-06-19T20:12:08ZCorrupt state owned enterprises lie at the heart of South Africa’s economic woes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174008/original/file-20170615-23574-zce0hl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Demonstrators march against corruption in South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The prevailing economic crisis sweeping through South Africa is a direct result of economic mismanagement largely shaped by the looting of state owned enterprises. </p>
<p>Many are in deep <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-08-06-state-owned-enterprises-chaos-inside-a-mess-wrapped-in-politics/#.WT_1gOuGPIU">trouble</a>. Sheer incompetence and corruption has pushed entities like South African Airways and the South African Broadcasting Corporation closer to <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/rdm/business/2017-03-24-sinking-fast-the-perilous-state-of-sas-six-big-state-owned-companies/">financial collapse</a>. Serious questions are being asked about the legality of multi-billion <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2017/06/09/Malema-lays-charges-in-alleged-R17-billion-Transnet-locomotive-tender-corruption">rand procurements at Transnet</a> and the state power utility <a href="http://amabhungane.co.za/article/2017-04-22-r10bn-in-15-days-another-massive-eskom-boost-for-the-guptas">Eskom</a>. </p>
<p>The scale of the problem has been brought into sharp relief in recent weeks by two developments that show corruption in state owned enterprises has been unfolding for years. The first was the release of a report written by academics: <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-05-26-betrayal-of-the-promise-the-anatomy-of-state-capture/">Betrayal of the Promise</a>. The second was the leaking of 200 000 emails which point to dubious links between the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/2017/06/01/the-new-gupta-emails-are-a-lot-heres-what-they-say-in-5-quick_a_22120706/">Gupta family</a>, senior politicians and officials.</p>
<p>The country stands to slip deeper into crisis unless the lust for loot is stopped. The economy is already in deep trouble. It’s <a href="http://www.enca.com/south-africa/south-africa-slips-into-recession-as-economy-shrinks">in recession</a>, and worse is to come. The second quarter GDP figures will reflect that a third rating agency has downgraded the <a href="http://www.stanlib.com/EconomicFocus/Pages/MoodysdowngradeSAscreditrating.aspx">country’s credit rating.</a></p>
<p>There are some indications that the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-battle-for-control-of-south-africas-state-isnt-just-about-personalities-79131">tide may be turning</a> but the job of reforming the state owned enterprises will have to go beyond just replacing board members. It must also focus on ensuring greater accountability financial responsibility, and performance management.</p>
<p>Unfortunately the severely <a href="http://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2017/03/24/anc-fractured-core-says-chief-whip/">fractured</a> African National Congress (ANC) is incapable of reversing the slide. Instead, it’s more concerned with outsmarting the growing opposition to President Jacob Zuma’s rule suppressing internal rebellion, and maintaining the crumbling patronage network.</p>
<h2>Unaffordable</h2>
<p>The increasing inefficiency in state owned enterprises continues to put pressure on the <a href="http://www.treasury.gov.za/documents/national%20budget/2017/review/Chapter%208.pdf">country’s fiscus</a>. This is not something it can afford. <a href="http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/business/2017/04/06/public-enterprises-played-a-big-part-in-south-africas-credit-ratings-downgrade">Ratings agencies</a> have made it clear that they’re monitoring continuous bailouts and government guarantees. This is because they pose a serious threat to government’s fiscal balances and policy priorities.</p>
<p>Government guarantees to state owned enterprises stood at <a href="http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKCN0VX1DN">R467 billion</a> at the end of 2015/16. Standard & Poor’s forecasts they will swell to over R500 billion by 2020 – 10% of <a href="https://www.thesouthafrican.com/south-africa-beyond-the-2017-budget/">South Africa’s current GDP</a>. This is more than twice the government <a href="https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/economy/sp-government-guaranteed-debt-contingent-liabilities-a-risk-to-sa-rating/">contingents in year 2015/2016</a>. </p>
<p>These bailouts have weighed on the fiscus, pushing government debt into dangerous territory. Even before the downgrades South Africa’s debt burden was higher than other <a href="http://www.fin24.com/Economy/sas-debt-to-gdp-highest-among-emerging-market-peers-report-20160926">emerging markets</a>. Moody’s forecasts that total government debt will reach 55% of GDP by 2018 and will <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/trending/sa-downgrade/2017/06/09/moodys-rates-sa/Link">continue to rise</a> after that.</p>
<p>The reason government continues to bail out state owned enterprises is purely due to the fact that they are being managed badly.</p>
<p>The recent board and management scandals at the <a href="http://www.biznews.com/leadership/2017/03/13/prasa-popo-molefe-dipuo-peters/">Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa</a>, <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/sabc-board-under-fire-amid-scandal-2072625">South African Broadcast Corporation</a>, <a href="http://weeklyxpose.co.za/2017/05/22/r13m-tender-scandal-at-saa-tip-of-the-iceberg-report/">South African Airways</a> and <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/05/12/eskom-says-thorough-board-discussion-went-on-over-molefe-s-comeback-move">Eskom</a> indicate that there has been little commitment to improve governance and address operational deficiencies. Instead some senior ANC officials claim that a call for reforms is <a href="http://www.anc.org.za/sites/default/files/National%20Policy%20Conference%202017%20Economic%20Transformation_1.pdf">anti-transformation</a>. </p>
<p>The financial markets are increasingly unwilling to tolerate such excuses. This can be seen by the recent <a href="https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/markets/transnet-bond-auction-fails-to-entice/">subscription failure</a> of Transnet’s bond auction. And some private asset managers have become extremely <a href="http://www.enca.com/south-africa/sas-asset-manager-stops-lending-state-companies-money">cautious</a> about lending money to public entities.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>The new Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has so far failed to inspire confidence. Allegations that he is deeply mired in the <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-06-13-analysis-being-malusi-gigaba/">web of scandals</a> are not helping the situation. </p>
<p>Gigaba recently declared that state owned enterprises are <a href="http://www.fin24.com/Economy/gigaba-praises-south-africas-soes-20170605">functioning well and doing “great work”</a>. This is surprising given the rot being revealed on a daily basis. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-power-utility-so-many-red-flags-its-hard-to-know-where-to-start-79155">patronage network</a> that stands accused of milking state owned enterprises has <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/rdm/politics/2017-06-13-the-gupta-dominoes-are-tumbling-fast/">started to crumble</a>. This includes the axing of <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/06/14/no-golden-handshake-for-sacked-hlaudi-motsoeneng-when-he-leaves-sabc">Hlaudi Motsoeneng</a> from the South African Broadcasting Corporation and <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/eskom-officially-fires-brianmolefe-9506271">Molefe</a> from Eskom. <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2017-06-13-lights-out-eskom-board-chair-ben-ngubane-resigns-with-immediate-effect">Ben Ngubane</a> has resigned as chairperson of the Eskom board. </p>
<p>There are also signs that <a href="http://www.fin24.com/Economy/Eskom/outa-lays-criminal-charges-against-ngubane-20170613">public and private pressure</a> is forcing some government ministers to take responsibility for their departments. Examples include Minister of Public Enterprises <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/05/31/brown-inter-ministerial-committee-has-reached-agreement-on-molefe">Lynne Brown</a>, Communications Minister <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/04/01/communications-minister-dlodlo-aware-of-turmoil-at-the-sabc">Ayanda Dlodlo</a> and the Minister of Police <a href="http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2017/04/16/mbalula-orders-former-hawks-boss-ntlemeza-to-vacate-his-office-immediately">Fikile Mbalula</a>.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the key implication of the Gupta emails is that reversing the deep damage inflicted on the country must start with reforming state owned enterprises. Reversing the rot will take decades. It should begin by ensuring that <a href="http://www.fin24.com/Economy/cabinet-approves-measures-to-improve-soes-20161103">measures agreed last year</a> are implemented.</p>
<p>These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>holding the corrupt public servants to account,</p></li>
<li><p>closing loopholes in public procurement to ensure that history isn’t repeated, and</p></li>
<li><p>appointing suitably qualified and experienced technocrats rather than unqualified politically connected individuals.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Finally, some state owned enterprises will need to be privatised. This is because they operate as monopolies in key sectors which is perpetuating gross inefficiencies. Only privatisation will end these distortions. </p>
<p>For many years, government has claimed that South Africa’s many challenges could be overcome by adopting policies of a “developmental state”. This would entail active state involvement in economic activity and using its resources to tackle poverty and expand economic opportunities. </p>
<p>But the ongoing revelations show that even before South Africa can consider becoming a developmental state, it will first have to root out the ingrained predatory state. Only then can investor confidence begin to be restored, recovery restarted and rating downgrades reversed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79135/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sean Gossel receives funding from the University of Cape Town. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Misheck Mutize does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Reforming South Africa’s state owned enterprises should start with greater accountability and financial responsibility.Misheck Mutize, Lecturer of Finance and Doctor of Philosophy Candidate, specializing in Finance, University of Cape TownSean Gossel, Senior Lecturer, UCT Graduate School of Business, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/791552017-06-13T16:02:07Z2017-06-13T16:02:07ZSouth Africa’s power utility: so many red flags it’s hard to know where to start<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173598/original/file-20170613-25879-o5e7c7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In happier days. Former Eskom CEO (right) shakes hands with President Jacob Zuma.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/GCIS</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>South Africa’s state owned enterprises have been hit by one scandal after another signalling serious political and corporate governance failures. The largest of these, the power utility Eskom, has seen its CEO <a href="https://theconversation.com/eskom-ceo-saga-highlights-massive-systems-failure-in-south-africa-78432">Brian Molefe</a> resign, then return, and then be <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/brianmolefe-fired-again-9448206">fired</a> – all in the space of seven months. This was followed by the unexpected <a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/eskom-board-chair-resigns-20170612">resignation</a> of Eskom Chairperson Ben Ngubane. The Conversation Africa’s Sibonelo Radebe asked Owen Skae to make sense of it all.</em></p>
<p><strong>What do you make of what’s happening at Eskom?</strong></p>
<p>It’s an unholy mess. The entire basis of the departure, reappointment and subsequent firing of the Eskom CEO raises so many red flags it’s hard to know where to start. And, to cap it all, the chairman has resigned with immediate effect. That means Eskom is without a CEO and now has a <a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/eskom-board-chair-resigns-20170612">stand-in chairperson</a>.</p>
<p>One thing is clear. The board, the chairperson Ben Ngubane, the minister of public enterprises Lynne Brown, and Molefe failed in their duties to serve Eskom. They failed South Africa’s taxpayers who are the indirect shareholders of Eskom. And they failed the country. </p>
<p>To understand their duties, one has to consider the basic principles of governing state owned enterprises. Eskom is a <a href="http://www.eskom.co.za/OurCompany/CompanyInformation/Pages/Legislation.aspx">public company</a> and its sole shareholder is the government. The shareholder representative is the ministry of public enterprises. A <a href="http://www.eskom.co.za/OurCompany/CompanyInformation/Pages/Legislation.aspx">shareholder compact</a> guides the relationship between the board, the executives and the minister. </p>
<p>The shareholder compact is an annual agreement between Eskom’s leadership and the minister. It documents the power utility’s mandate, as well as key performance measures. It also sets out what’s expected from a good governance perspective. It’s meant to avoid the kind of mess that has visited Eskom over the past few months.</p>
<p><strong>What went wrong?</strong></p>
<p>A number of things.</p>
<p>The main one is that corporate governance rules designed to manage conflicts of interest were totally disregarded. </p>
<p>The country’s <a href="http://www.iodsa.co.za/?Companiesact">Companies Act</a> spells out what a director may or may not do if they have a personal financial interest in a matter. These rules apply as much to state owned enterprises as they do to publicly listed ones. The Eskom situation suggests that directors, and Molefe in particular, disregarded this principle. </p>
<p>This is highlighted in the former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s “<a href="https://www.ujuh.co.za/state-of-capture-public-protectors-report/">State of Capture</a>” report which suggested that Molefe had had an improper relationship with the Guptas, a family of businessmen with close ties to President Jacob Zuma. Among other things, the report questioned the way in which the Eskom leaders collaborated with the Guptas to buy, some say <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/energy/2017-05-16-brian-molefe-helped-the-guptas-hijack-a-mine-says-ngoako-ramatlhodi/">hijack</a>, a mine supplying power utility with coal.</p>
<p>The Eskom board and the minister also failed to apply their minds properly around Molefe’s controversial <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2017-05-22-now-eskoms-molefe-was-on-unpaid-leave">departure and return</a>. This includes a deal to give him a pension payout of <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2017-05-12-lynne-brown-paying-brian-molefe-r30-million-is-the-only-solution">R30 million</a> just 18 months in the job and 13 years before he is due to reach <a href="https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/brian-molefe-50-too-young-for-early-retirement/">retirement age</a>.</p>
<p>A good understanding of the act, as well as the <a href="http://www.iodsa.co.za/?kingIII">codes</a> of good corporate governance that have been developed in the country, make it clear that the board should have:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>called a special meeting to consider Molefe’s departure</p></li>
<li><p>applied its mind to the circumstances of his departure</p></li>
<li><p>ensured that the necessary legal, risk and reputation issues were addressed.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Another big area of failure was the role of the board’s chairperson. Even though he has resigned, he should still be held accountable for not providing the necessary oversight at such a momentous time.</p>
<p>As the only shareholder, the government is also complicit. As the shareholder representative the minister of public enterprises had the responsibility of asking the board questions as part of a consultative process that’s set out in the shareholder compact.</p>
<p>Either the minister wasn’t <a href="https://www.ujuh.co.za/lynne-brown-brian-molefes-return-to-eskom-is-better-than-r30m-payout/">properly informed</a> or didn’t ask the questions she was entitled to ask, or a mixture of both. This raises red flags about her level of commitment to the shareholder compact.</p>
<p><strong>What does it tell us about the broader political environment?</strong></p>
<p>There’s just too much interference – for nefarious reasons – from outsiders in the running of state owned enterprises. Excessive power and authority is vested in too few people. I often use the analogy of being a sports coach. Imagine a situation where the coach is called to account for his actions every day, where he has no say in who is picked and is told to change the game plan. The situation becomes unmanageable. </p>
<p>Interference undermines the way things should be, erodes confidence and allows conflicts of interest to flourish. This is particularly true when the interference is from people who aren’t acting in the best interests of the team. </p>
<p>But being untouchable is also a recipe for disaster. So we have to find a middle ground. The rules of the game must be established and the parties must carry them out with integrity, competence, responsibility, accountability, fairness and transparency.</p>
<p>These rules of the game are clearly set out in the South African context. Nobody can claim they don’t know what they are. In the case of Eskom they’ve simply been flouted.</p>
<p><strong>What do the events at Eskom tell us about state owned enterprises in South Africa?</strong></p>
<p>Sadly, state owned enterprises are seen as instruments to serve an elite few rather than fulfilling their broader mandate. </p>
<p>On top of this they aren’t financially viable which means they’ll continue to be a drain on the fiscus. The government must consider partnerships with the private sector. This can be done by selling minority stakes as <a href="https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news-fast-news/finance-minister-says-like-saa-minority-equity-partner/">suggested</a> by former finance minister Pravin Gordhan.</p>
<p>The success of the partly privatised telecommunications entity Telkom supports this view. The company has just posted <a href="https://techfinancials.co.za/2017/06/05/sas-telkom-earnings-lifted-by-mobile-business/">handsome profits</a>, suggesting it’s a model that could be used to turn around other state owned enterprises, including Eskom.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79155/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Owen Skae does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The scandals surrounding South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, were caused by the neglect of corporate governance rules by the board, the executive authority, and the public enterprises minister.Owen Skae, Associate Professor and Director of Rhodes Business School, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/721132017-01-31T15:54:36Z2017-01-31T15:54:36ZAre MPs up to the task of fixing South Africa’s troubled public broadcaster?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154762/original/image-20170130-7653-lh5jh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"> Demonstrators protest against censorship by the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa’s public broadcaster, the SABC, is in trouble. It has been for years. But things are a little more dangerous than before. There are two critical processes on the go, one to address the SABC’s financial and governance crises and the second to appoint an interim board. </p>
<p>Each must be concluded in the public interest. If the processes unravel there may be little hope of arresting the SABC’s long-term decline and marginalisation. And that will also be a problem for democracy. Through its radio and television offerings, the SABC has the widest media reach in the country.</p>
<p>With the rise in sponsored, commercial content and fake news globally and in South Africa, the country needs a professional, independent public broadcaster offering context, professional fact-checked news and a multitude of views.</p>
<p>The two critical parliamentary processes are the inquiry into the fitness of the SABC board to <a href="http://citizen.co.za/news/news-national/1401609/watch-parly-inquiry-sabc-board-debates-final-report/">fulfil its duties</a>. This is being overseen by an ad hoc committee specially set up in 2016. The other is the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communication’s appointment of an <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/criteria-set-for-sabc-interim-board-nominees-7501311">interim board</a>.</p>
<p>The ad hoc has done admirable work. But the process of completing its task is being held up by bickering between the governing African National Congress and the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance. It’s critical that this gets resolved. The work on appointing an interim board is ongoing but it too needs to be concluded urgently.</p>
<h2>The work of the ad hoc committee</h2>
<p>The ad hoc committee has hit a rocky patch. Members of the DA on the committee have <a href="http://www.enca.com/south-africa/da-mps-walk-out-of-sabc-inquiry">walked out</a> and haven’t endorsed a <a href="http://www.parliament.gov.za/Multimedia/misc/2017/Interim_Report_of_the_Ad_Hoc_Committee_on_the_SABC_Board_Inquiry/SABC_Ad_Hoc_Committee_Interim_Report_27_Jan_2017_adopted_published.pdf">draft report</a> produced by the remaining committee members. </p>
<p>Their complaints are that the report only contains findings and doesn’t include recommendations and that this has significantly watered down the power of the report. Also, in particular, they accuse ANC MPs of protecting Communications Minister Faith Muthambi by not including recommendations for her firing.</p>
<p>But MPs from the governing ANC argued that recommendations should come later after the committee had received further inputs from Muthambi as well as comments from other interested parties.</p>
<p>The ad hoc committee was set up in November 2016 in the wake of multiple crises at the SABC. Its brief was wide-ranging and included:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>looking into the financial status and sustainability of the SABC,</p></li>
<li><p>the corporation’s response to the Public Protector’s critical 2014 report <a href="http://www.pprotect.org/library/investigation_report/2013-14/WHEN%20GOVERNANCE%20FAILS%20REPORT%20EXEC%20SUMMARY.pdf">When Governance and Ethics Fail</a>, which followed her probe of the broadcaster</p></li>
<li><p>the SABC’s response to court judgments against it, and its response in particular to the <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2016/07/11/SABC-responds-to-Icasa-ruling-on-censorship">ruling</a> by the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Tough findings</h2>
<p>The committee did its work with what seemed to be an unprecedented level of cooperation among political parties in parliament. Some even went as far as to say parliament had at last found its backbone after years of weakly standing by as finances, governance and editorial principles crumbled at the SABC.</p>
<p>The broadcaster’s board and management <a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/sabc-members-walks-out-of-parliament-inquiry-20161207">fought</a> against the process. They walked out of proceedings and refused to provide documents and then maliciously complied through sending hundreds of emails. But the committee stood strong.</p>
<p>It heard testimonies from a range of key stakeholders. These included the Public Protector and the Auditor General as well as NGOs and human rights organisations. It also interviewed former board members, former SABC employees and <a href="http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/47a0a0004f4dd823a397f35d9cc72cdd/%E2%80%9CSABC-8%E2%80%9D-continue-testifying-before-Parliament-20161212">eight</a> journalists who had been fired for standing up to management against its illegal ban on showing footage of violent protests. </p>
<p>The committee’s subsequent draft report captured the hours of testimony and pointed to a number of deep structural challenges. It pointed to the conflict between the <a href="http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/a4-99.pdf">Broadcasting Act</a> and the <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/companies-act">Companies Act</a>. It said that Muthambi had selectively used the Companies Act to give herself powers to fire board members. The report said that the SABC’s independence needs to be protected and that </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Broadcasting Act is undoubtedly specific to the SABC, and is therefore the primary law applicable to the public broadcaster.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It also highlighted irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. It calculated that there had been irregular expenditure of R5.1bn and fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R92.5m. It also included a section on “suspicious transactions”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154757/original/image-20170130-7685-1q72eas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154757/original/image-20170130-7685-1q72eas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154757/original/image-20170130-7685-1q72eas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154757/original/image-20170130-7685-1q72eas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154757/original/image-20170130-7685-1q72eas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154757/original/image-20170130-7685-1q72eas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154757/original/image-20170130-7685-1q72eas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Communications Minister Faith Muthambi and former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GCIS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The report included a section on the SABC’s editorial policies, concluding that these had been passed without sufficient consultation. It also pointed to problems with their content, including the fact that they undermined the role of journalists by insisting that they refer all ‘controversial’ editorial decisions upwards to management.</p>
<p>The report highlighted the problematic role of <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/sabc-inquiry-muthambi-crucified-in-draft-report-7530722">Minister Muthambi</a> and her tabling of the <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/broadcasting-amendment-bill-b39-2015-5-dec-2015-0000">Broadcasting Amendment Bill, 2015</a> which calls for her to be given powers to appoint board members. The report stated that this showed the lengths that the minister has been prepared to go to “concentrate power in the ministry”. </p>
<p>It pointed to her illegal role in appointing Hlaudi Motsoeneng to the position of permanent Chief Operating Officer, despite the public protector’s findings that he lacked the necessary qualifications for the role.</p>
<h2>Next steps</h2>
<p>The ad hoc committee’s findings were powerful. It would have been better still if it had included recommendations in its draft report. But what is now critical is that the process isn’t scuppered. MPs need to work together to ensure a final report is delivered which contains strong recommendations. ANC MPs have promised to do so. This is a good start, but they need to be held strongly to account.</p>
<p>As far as the <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-01-24-sabc-interim-board-appointment-process-gets-underway/#.WI5TYRt95PY">interim board</a> is concerned, the portfolio committee is due to select one shortly. According to the Broadcasting Act it should be made up of five non-executive directors and three executive directors who will sit for no longer than six months. Its task is to implement the ad hoc committee’s recommendations that will be included in the final report.</p>
<p>What’s essential is that parliament selects a competent group of individuals, ready to roll up their sleeves. It’s essential that they have the required technical skills. But they also need to have political clout. They must be brave and resilient and have the guts to work against the SABC’s entrenched networks of power and corruption.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72113/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Skinner received funding from the Open Society Foundation. She is affiliated with the SOS: Support Public Broadcasting Coalition. </span></em></p>It’s vital that the problems at the South African Broadcasting Corporation be fixed in the public interest and for democracy, given its wide media reach in the country.Kate Skinner, PhD student in Media Studies, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/681012016-11-03T07:19:45Z2016-11-03T07:19:45ZWhy South Africans should resist an amnesty deal for Zuma<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144227/original/image-20161102-27231-vkzr2r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South African President Jacob Zuma. Granting him amnesty would send the wrong signal. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Foley/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the roof of Jacob Zuma’s presidency begins to <a href="http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2016/11/01/zuma-s-position-now-untenable-and-he-must-resign-nehawu....">cave in</a>, there is the suggestion that, to save South Africa and the continuing damage that his incumbency is doing to the economy, he should be given <a href="http://businesstech.co.za/news/government/141709/give-zuma-a-presidential-pardon-anc-veteran/">amnesty</a>.</p>
<p>It would seem this is meant to give Zuma a cast iron assurance that the charges pertaining to his <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2016-05-03-high-court-finding-means-charges-against-zuma-are-effectively-reinstated/#.WBn4Yy197IU">involvement in corrupt dealings</a> around the arms deal be dropped. It would also serve as a guarantee that charges will never be reinstated. </p>
<p>With such assurances, it is suggested, he can be pensioned off as a former president to spend the rest of his days watching over his chickens and lazing around by his <a href="http://www.news24.com/Video/SouthAfrica/News/WATCH-Media-get-firepool-demo-at-Nkandla-20150726">firepool</a> in Nkandla. South Africa will then be able to get on with the job of restoring its brand and getting the economy going again.</p>
<p>At first sight, the idea is a tempting one. But probe just a little bit deeper and it becomes clear that it’s a very bad idea. </p>
<h2>When amnesty is justified</h2>
<p>Granting amnesty to dictators and warlords can be justified as a legitimate option if it serves to bring an end to brutal civil wars, halt killings and restore peace. If dictators identify their continued occupation of office as necessary to ensure their physical survival and guarantee their freedom from arrest, they are likely to do everything within their means to hang on to power. So the killings continue. </p>
<p>This sort of <a href="http://truth.wwl.wits.ac.za/cat_descr.php?cat=3">logic</a> prevailed in the case of South Africa’s own transition. Provision was made for amnesty to be granted to those, on both sides of the conflict, who were guilty of crimes against human rights which could be proved to be politically motivated. </p>
<p>This process was never carried through very thoroughly, and there are still some very unpleasant people at large who have never been prosecuted for brutal crimes. This continues to make many South Africans very <a href="http://www.702.co.za/articles/14249/why-has-the-npa-failed-to-prosecute-some-killers-found-guilty-by-the-trc">uncomfortable</a>. Yet, over the long term, most would conclude that a somewhat unsatisfactory peace is better than the war that might have engulfed the country if the (often unsavoury) deals around the political transition had not been struck. </p>
<p>But considerations such as these should not persuade South Africans to think of letting Zuma off the hook.</p>
<p>Most political commentators agree that the Zuma presidency has done enormous damage to the quality and institutions of democracy in South Africa. Details were revealed in Thuli Madonsela’s <a href="http://www.rdm.co.za/politics/2016/11/02/live-blog-the-release-of-the-state-capture-report-as-it-happens">final report</a> as Public Protector, which dealt with state capture and was released on November 2 after a legal battle. The report addresses, among other issues, alleged corrupt deals involving the <a href="http://mg.co.za/tag/gupta-family">Gupta family</a> and well as the removal and appointment of ministers. The report investigated whether this resulted in “improper and possibly corrupt” awarding of state contracts and benefits to the Gupta family businesses.</p>
<p>Along the way, “capture” of state institutions such as the South African Broadcasting Corporation, the National Prosecuting Authority, the state utility Eskom and South African Airways led to the corrupt diversion of resources towards individuals and companies related to the Guptas, at a major cost to the exchequer. It also led to many bad decisions being made. One notable case is Eskom’s attempt to commit the country to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-power-utility-wants-to-finance-nuclear-this-is-a-bad-idea-67939">nuclear future</a>.</p>
<p>So why not step in now, wave Zuma goodbye, perhaps even give him a golden handshake, and stop the rot?</p>
<p>The simple answer is that it would not work. </p>
<h2>The problem extends beyond the presidency</h2>
<p>Getting rid of Zuma is only part, albeit a major part, of any solution which will seriously begin to tackle the scourge of corruption. </p>
<p>What about the Guptas? And what about Zuma’s extensive Gupta-connected patronage network? Are South Africans simply to concede amnesty to all, merely in the hope of better behaviour in the future by those who have so blatantly abused public office? </p>
<p>Or if South Africans were to demand a cleaning out of the Augean stables, would they be happy to prosecute merely the foot soldiers while their former generals were allowed to go free?</p>
<p>South Africa is a very violent society. But, thankfully, it is not a country in civil war. If it was, and getting rid of Zuma would lead to peace, there would be solid grounds for peacemakers striking a deal with him, however unpalatable. But South Africa is not at war and does not have to reach for extreme solutions. </p>
<p>Indeed, as a constitutional state, the country has the architecture and the instruments to prosecute wrongdoers at the highest level, and to justify the mantra that “everyone is equal before the law”. </p>
<p>Of course, for this to happen, there is the problem of getting the governing <a href="http://www.anc.org.za/">African National Congress</a> to agree.</p>
<h2>Zuma and the ANC</h2>
<p>The momentum within the ruling party for a change at the top is growing day by day, and it seems increasingly unlikely that Zuma will be able to see out his term as president of the party, which <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-02-06-more-zuma-more-zumocracy-whats-behind-the-bid-to-extend-the-presidents-term/#.WBnmi_p97IU">ends in 2017</a>. He is less and less able to guarantee the safety and security of his cronies as the wheels begin to come off his presidency. </p>
<p>As more and more prominent individuals within the party and its allied <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2016/11/01/Zumas-position-now-untenable-and-he-must-resign-Nehawu">trade unions</a> begin to call for his head, the weaker his control over the National Executive Committee of the ANC, and the more likely that he will be asked by its power-brokers to stand down. Yet he is likely to bargain hard, demanding amnesty for past and current crimes – and the ANC might be tempted to grant it to him. </p>
<p>After all, if Zuma were to face trial (indeed, he could face several), then the ANC’s dirty washing would be hung out to dry over a considerable period of time. So if the point of getting rid of him would simply be to secure the ANC’s re-election in 2019 – the scheduled date for national elections – this would be as politically costly as it would be embarrassing.</p>
<p>In short, the grant of amnesty to Zuma looms as a very real possibility. But civil society should not allow it to happen. And if those within the ANC who are calling for the party to <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-11/anc-must-reform-or-lose-power-in-south-africa-top-leader-says">reform</a> itself are genuine in their demands, they should argue for the ANC to face the consequences. No pain, no gain. Unless there is a cost, there is the danger of replacing Zuma as a person and not as the head honcho of the system of wheeler-dealing and patronage that he has put in place. </p>
<h2>Symbolism of a president in the dock</h2>
<p>Prosecuting Zuma would send out the message loud and clear: that South Africa remains a constitutional democracy. </p>
<p>The symbolism of a president in the dock would be enormous. It would be enormously popular in the cities and towns of Africa, even though the serried ranks of African leaders would regard it with alarm and horror. </p>
<p>It would send out a warning to all those enjoying political office that corrupt dealings carry a high risk of costly consequences. It would restore faith among South Africans in a state whose reputation is at its lowest point since 1994. It would encourage ordinary people to pay their taxes, and restore their confidence that these will be well and honestly used. </p>
<p>It is not enough that Zuma should simply vacate office. He must face the music for his alleged crimes, for his misuse of office, for his assault on the constitution. Those who connived in all this must face the music alongside him too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68101/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger Southall receives funding from the National Research Council</span></em></p>The idea of giving South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma amnesty in exchange for early exit is tempting but it will set a bad precedent.Roger Southall, Professor of Sociology, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/658242016-10-03T18:57:08Z2016-10-03T18:57:08ZPress freedom: worrying signs as South Africa slips in global rankings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140129/original/image-20161003-20230-10of9pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Media freedom activists protest against the draconian Protection of Information Bill in Cape Town, South Africa.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sumaya Hisham/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On 19 October 1977, the apartheid government in South Africa banned The World, the Weekend World and arrested the newspapers’ editor Percy Qoboza. <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/remembering-qobozas-sense-of-duty-1594527#.ViI2CX4rLnA">Pro Veritate</a>, an ecumenical newspaper, was also banned.</p>
<p>The day was named <a href="http://www.saha.org.za/news/2011/November/a_black_wednesday_for_apartheid_sa_and_a_black_tuesday_for_democratic_sa.htm">Black Wednesday</a> and is commemorated every year. It serves as an opportunity to take stock of how the country is faring when it comes to press freedom. </p>
<p>Since the end of apartheid South Africa has made great advances when it comes to freedom of the press and freedom of expression in general. The situation today is a far cry from the apartheid era. </p>
<p>Freedom of expression is firmly embedded in the country’s <a href="http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/images/a108-96.pdf">constitution</a> which provides for the “freedom of press and other media”. It also enshrines the right of access to information. </p>
<p>Legislation, such as the Promotion of Access to <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/legis/consol_act/poatia2000366/">Information Act</a> has been put in place to underpin these constitutional rights. It provides for access to any information held by the State or private person. This <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2009/21.html">practically means</a> that the Act provides the media with information on how government is run. </p>
<p>This in turn may very well have a bearing on elections and therefore significantly influences a democratic state. As the country’s Constitutional Court has <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2009/21.html">stated</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Access to information is crucial to accurate reporting and thus to imparting accurate information to the public. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Contrary to the secretive apartheid regime, the Promotion of Access to Information Act promotes a culture of responsiveness, transparency and accountability in government.</p>
<p>Impressive as that might be, things do not work as well in practice. South Africa has been dropping in <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/south-africa">press freedom rankings</a>. Reasons for the decline include the fact that access to information for the media has been slow and is often hampered by bureaucracy. And in <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/south-africa">only a few cases</a> have access to information applications resulted in full disclosure of information. </p>
<p>While there’s reason to celebrate the improvement of press freedom in a number of southern African countries, South Africans have reason to worry. The <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/freedom-press-2016">Freedom of the Press Report</a> lists South Africa as being among the countries with one of the biggest declines in press freedom, dropping four places. It is now being seen as only “partly free”. </p>
<h2>Progress so far</h2>
<p>In the 2015 <a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking">World Press Freedom Index</a>, southern Africa was ranked as the second most improved media environment in the world with <a href="https://rsf.org/en/namibia">Namibia</a> being a real success story. </p>
<p>In other parts of Africa <a href="https://rsf.org/en/ghana">Ghana</a> is still faring well (despite dropping in rankings). Countries in <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/freedom-press-2016">West Africa</a>, such as Burkina Faso, Cȏte d’Ivoire and Togo showed encouraging improvements. </p>
<p>According to another survey, the Freedom House <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/freedom-press-2016">Freedom of the Press Report 2015</a>, South Africa ranks at number 39 of 180 countries, and within Africa, it ranks lower than Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Mauritius, Ghana and Namibia.</p>
<p>So, while there has been a general improvement in press freedom in the southern part of Africa in 2015, South Africa’s decline in rankings is a cause for concern.</p>
<h2>Free to say what they think?</h2>
<p>In his 2014 Black Wednesday <a href="http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/pebble.asp?relid=18231">commemoration speech</a> President Jacob Zuma emphasised that the “country is run by a government with leaders who fought for these rights” and because of this they should be trusted to “never deny our people the right to say what they think”.</p>
<p>But, the ANC government proved that merely being the liberation party does not exempt you from violating the rights of others. A study by <a href="http://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Briefing%20paper/ab_r5_policypaperno3.pdf">Afrobarometer</a> shows that people who indicate that they are free to say what they think also report lower levels of corruption and better government performance.</p>
<p>South Africa has shown that high government corruption can be equated to lower press freedom in attempts to cover-up corruption. One example is the use of <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/legis/consol_act/nkpa1980224.pdf">legislation</a> from the apartheid era to hinder any critical reporting on the use of public money on President Zuma’s private homestead at <a href="http://www.corruptionwatch.org.za/national-key-points-act-laid-bare/">Nkandla</a>. This serves as a clear contradiction of Zuma’s 2014 speech.</p>
<p>The controversial <a href="http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/B6F-2010_15Oct2013.pdf">Protection of State Information Bill</a> is also a threat to access to information. Better known as the “Secrecy Bill”, it carries prison terms of up to 25 years for the disclosure of classified state information.</p>
<p>Another punch in the face of freedom of expression is the <a href="http://iabsa.net/assets/FPB_Draft_Online_policy_Submissions.pdf">proposal</a> by the Film and Publications <a href="http://www.fpb.org.za/">Board</a> to regulate online content.</p>
<p>But the most saddening has been the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s open display of bias towards the governing ANC. Examples include its refusal to allow political advertisements of <a href="http://buzzsouthafrica.com/das-election-ads/">opposition parties</a> and directing journalists not to ask Zuma <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-07-20-hlaudis-kill-bill-the-slippery-slide-towards-manipulating-the-news/#.V-5rr8e9rIU">difficult questions</a>.</p>
<h2>Liberating party loses sight of its roots</h2>
<p>South Africa’s challenge is that the government is slowly crossing the bridge from liberating party to being a threat to democracy.</p>
<p>A mediocre democracy would be happy with being ranked “partly free” for media freedom. But, that is not in keeping with the robust democracy that many fought for South Africa to become. </p>
<p>As the country commemorates Black Wednesday and celebrates press freedom, South African would do well not forget what it took to gain such freedom, and the work that lies ahead to maintain it.</p>
<p>If the South African government continues down the slippery slope of corruption and censorship, it will only be a matter of time before its “partly free” media freedom status degenerates into “not free” – just like it was during apartheid.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65824/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Georgia Alida du Plessis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While some African countries have shown an improvement in press freedom and freedom of expression ratings, others, including South Africa, are seeing worrying trends and a drop in rankings.Georgia Alida du Plessis, Research Fellow in Public Law, University of the Free StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/649132016-09-08T20:45:16Z2016-09-08T20:45:16ZState companies can’t help development if the state is a partisan player<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137029/original/image-20160908-25231-7ufpto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>State-owned enterprises are legal entities required to take on commercial and development activities for the government. They tend to be hybrid by nature in that they have a business mandate with a profit aim combined with a development, social or service delivery mandate.</p>
<p>In South Africa’s case there is a particular emphasis on state-owned enterprises contributing to the goals of a <a href="http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/electronicreport/downloads/volume_1/volume_1.pdf">developmental state</a>. This development mandate is not unique to South Africa. Governments worldwide use state-owned companies as catalysts for growth, development and employment. The enterprises are also becoming increasingly influential in the global market. China’s state companies are <a href="https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/psrc/publications/assets/pwc-state-owned-enterprise-psrc.pdf">notable examples</a>.</p>
<p>State-owned enterprises, also known as parastatals, generally have one shareholder: the state. In South Africa, the respective cabinet ministers act as shareholders on behalf of the state, thus maintaining political oversight of them. The shareholding minister is, in turn, accountable to parliament. </p>
<p>Parastatals are funded from the public purse. As an indirect shareholder, the public has a legitimate interest in their workings. That’s why the relevant minister needs to be cognisant that he or she <a href="http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/ElectronicReport/downloads/volume_2/volume_2.pdf">“promotes the public interest”</a>.</p>
<p>But South Africa’s parastatals are in a dire state. Instead of being the mandated sites of development and profitability, they are costing the country and the public purse <a href="http://city-press.news24.com/Business/zumas-odd-grab-for-soes-20160828">billions</a>. In the 2014/2015 financial year, they made a combined loss of R15,5 billion. </p>
<p>Some of South Africa’s state-owned enterprises are being <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ancs-path-to-corruption-was-set-in-south-africas-1994-transition-64774">used for personal ends</a> by individuals within the ruling African National Congress. The root of the problem is that the principle of impartiality has been transgressed. Instead, the state is being used as a partisan role player, notably in the distribution of patronage. </p>
<h2>Political interference</h2>
<p>Two tangible examples illustrate this: the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and South African Airways (SAA). After disentangling the chaos, dismal performances, financial mismanagement and blatant lack of accountability at these entities, links to President Jacob Zuma become clear. </p>
<p>Mismanagement has left the public broadcaster in <a href="http://www.financialmail.co.za/features/2016/07/15/sabc-in-financial-meltdown?platform=hootsuite">financial trouble</a>. This has been blamed on the fact that its controversial Chief Operations Officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, enjoys political protection. </p>
<p>In 2014 Public Protector Thuli Madonsela made adverse findings <a href="http://www.pprotect.org/library/investigation_report/2013-14/WHEN%20GOVERNANCE%20FAILS%20REPORT%20EXEC%20SUMMARY.pdf">against Motsoeneng</a>. Despite this, he was <a href="http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/media/2014/07/09/motsoeneng-made-permanent-chief-operations-officer-of-sabc">appointed permanently</a> to the post of chief operations officer by communications minister Faith Muthambi. </p>
<p>Motsoeneng has undermined the central role of the SABC - that is, to be a public broadcaster. For example, he has instructed journalists that 70% of the broadcaster’s news output must be <a href="http://city-press.news24.com/Voices/editorial-no-news-isnt-good-news-20160529">“positive”</a>. He has also insisted that Zuma be given <a href="http://city-press.news24.com/News/hlaudi-zuma-is-special-20160716">special treatment</a>. </p>
<p>SAA has a similarly sad tale. The national airline incurred a R2,5 billion loss in the <a href="http://businesstech.co.za/news/business/132084/leaked-report-shows-saa-post-a-massive-r1-4-billion-loss-for-the-first-quarter/">2013/14 financial year</a>. It has failed to submit financial statements for the past two years and is <a href="http://hsf.org.za/resource-centre/hsf-briefs/ethiopian-airways-2013-how-a-state-owned-enterprise-can-succeed">technically insolvent</a>. Although several of its board members laid complaints against its chairperson Dudu Myeni, no action has been taken against her. Instead, they were summarily removed from <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2016-09-02-00-saas-ms-untouchable-dudu-myeni-what-her-close-friend-ubaba-says-goes">their positions</a>. And Myeni has been reappointed chairperson. </p>
<p>Myeni is close to Zuma and serves as chairperson of his charity, the <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2014-11-06-jacob-zuma-links-to-untouchable-saa-boss">Jacob Zuma Foundation</a>.</p>
<h2>Tensions between state and government</h2>
<p>The fair distribution of, and access to, public goods in the public interest requires an autonomous or impartial state. Impartiality disqualifies corruption, cronyism, patronage, nepotism, political favouritism and discrimination. </p>
<p>There is considerable tension between the notion of an impartial state – a core value embedded in South Africa’s <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/Constitution-Republic-South-Africa-1996-1">1996 constitution</a> – and the political use of the state for partisan ends, or in the case of the state-owned enterprises, for personal ends. </p>
<p>Impartiality means being unmoved by considerations such as special relationships and personal preferences. </p>
<p>A crucial part of ensuring impartiality is to maintain the distinction and jurisdictional boundary between the state and government. The political administration of government can change as a result of elections while the state machinery is a distinct set of supportive institutions. These institutions need to continue to operate regardless of changes in political administration. </p>
<p>Governments come and go, while the state remains. It is essential for there to be state autonomy - a precondition for state agencies and personnel acting in the public interest. When state-government lines become blurred the state loses its autonomy, and so its neutrality. When the state becomes “captured” it can be used for partisan ends – serving the purposes or whims of the governing party or its leaders.</p>
<h2>The ultimate irony</h2>
<p>Even though the recent Presidential Review of <a href="http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/ElectronicReport/downloads/volume_1/volume_1.pdf">state-owned entities</a> acknowledged the need for “neutrality” and “independent autonomy”, Zuma has been named as chairperson of a new coordinating committee that will oversee South Africa’s <a href="http://www.bdlive.co.za/economy/2016/08/23/zuma-to-oversee-parastatal-strategy">parastatals</a>. </p>
<p>The move is possibly a strategy to undermine Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has since 2014 had <a href="http://city-press.news24.com/Business/zumas-odd-grab-for-soes-20160828">political oversight</a> over state companies. This could also be part of the ongoing factional divisions within the ANC. More pertinently though, it will give Zuma more say in the bailing out of parastatals and a closer eye over his personal interests.</p>
<p>If South Africa’s parastatals are to fulfil their developmental mandate and be good stewards of the public purse, they must stop being used for partisan ends – even the president’s.</p>
<p>The long-term trajectory of not abiding by the principle of impartiality is that state institutions and resources are used for partisan ends. This makes the political contest for governing power a zero-sum game. Access to the political administration becomes tantamount to access to resources for partisan gain, as opposed to being stewards of public resources for the public interest.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64913/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicola de Jager receives funding from the National Research Foundation. </span></em></p>South Africa’s parastatals are in a dire state. Instead of being the mandated sites of development and profitability, they are costing the public purse billions and have been abused.Nicola de Jager, Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/642432016-08-22T14:54:04Z2016-08-22T14:54:04ZQuestions that need to be asked to save South Africa’s public broadcaster<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134931/original/image-20160822-18702-fp7ame.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protesters decry the decision by the South African Broadcasting Corporation not to air scenes of violent protest.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The problems at South Africa’s public broadcaster have become legendary in the country. These range from serious mismanagement, to loss of editorial independence and poor financial management. </p>
<p>The problem is particularly serious because the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) remains the only source of information for <a href="http://www.saarf.co.za/saarf/newsreleases.asp">most South Africans</a>. But fixing the problem isn’t easy. This is because the country’s parliament, which has oversight, has been unable to impose its authority on decisions made by the SABC’s board, or on the minister in charge.</p>
<p>As a result the SABC has stumbled from one crisis to another. Its financial situation has become more <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/stnews/investigations/2016/07/10/Cash-starved-SABC-wants-bank-loan-of-R1.5bn">precarious every year</a> and its ability to fulfil its mandate more tenuous.</p>
<p>There were high hopes that the SABC would become a true public broadcaster after the end of apartheid – an era when it was used ruthlessly as a propaganda machine. But after a <a href="http://www.nab.org.za/content/page/broadcast-industry">promising start</a>, with concerted efforts to turn the SABC into a true public broadcaster (that included a democratically elected board and strong public service orientated editorial policies) it soon became clear that there was ongoing interference from the governing African National Congress (ANC). A glaring example included the <a href="http://www.fxi.org.za/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=174">blacklisting</a> in 2006 of commentators critical of then president Thabo Mbeki.</p>
<h2>Parliament’s failure</h2>
<p>The South African Parliament has a <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-07-14-sabc-mess-now-in-parliaments-care.-dont-hold-your-breath./#.V7oefCh96hc">dismal track record</a> of sorting out the SABC’s problems. This goes back years.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.acts.co.za/broadcasting-act-1999/2_object_of_act">Broadcasting Act of 1999</a> gave the legislature significant oversight powers, including the power to appoint the SABC’s board and to hold it to account in terms of its financial and corporate plans. Parliament was also given the power to hold the SABC to account in terms of its <a href="http://www.sabc.co.za/wps/portal/SABC/SABCCHARTER">charter</a>. </p>
<p>But parliament’s portfolio committee has fallen victim to <a href="http://www.theafricareport.com/Southern-Africa/south-africa-anc-factionalism-battles-emerge-ahead-of-2016-polls.html">internal battles</a> within the ANC and has simply not performed. It has routinely abandoned its oversight role.</p>
<p>The hard questions that members of parliament have failed to ask range from issues of editorial integrity through to questions on finances, particularly linked to financial mismanagement.</p>
<p>The SABC is <a href="http://www.sabc.co.za/wps/wcm/connect/abcc2f8049f38beead0defa53d9712f0/ANNUAL+REPORT+2015+part+3.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=abcc2f8049f38beead0defa53d9712f0">financed</a> through a combination of advertising (about 80%) licence fees (about 18%) and government (2%). It differs from public broadcasters in other countries because it relies heavily on advertising. Generally they rely on approximately 60% public funding. </p>
<h2>Editorial principles</h2>
<p>The first set of hard questions MPs ought to have asked is around the SABC abandoning its editorial principles. For example, why did management issue the clearly illegal <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2016/05/27/SABC-will-no-longer-broadcast-footage-displaying-violent-protests">policy directive</a> to ban footage of violent protests, particularly during an election period? A number of violent service delivery protests broke out in the run-up to local government elections in August. The SABC claimed that showing footage of protests would encourage further violence.</p>
<p>Management should have been asked why it initially <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2016-07-11-hlaudi-and-sabc-board-refuse-to-end-their-ban-on-airing-violent-protests-because-regulatory-body-icasa-is-not-a-court-of-law">defied</a> a ruling by the broadcast regulator that its ban was <a href="http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/91c56f004d746c0499c0df4b5facb1b5/Icasa-orders-SABC-to-withdraw-its-decision-to-ban-violent-protests-20161107">illegal</a>. The SABC initially played for time, saying it would take the matter on review. It eventually said it would comply. </p>
<p>Finally, management should have been asked why it went ahead and <a href="https://www.enca.com/south-africa/dismissed-sabc-journalists-back-in-court-today">illegally</a> fired journalists for defying the ban. </p>
<p>There is every indication that the broadcaster’s management is still bent on continuing to show the government – and particularly President Jacob Zuma – in a good light. Management recently passed a set of <a href="http://www.soscoalition.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/SABC-Editorial-Policy.pdf">editorial policies</a> that make its intentions clear. </p>
<p>A planned <a href="http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/politics/2016/08/22/political-week-ahead-sabc-board-set-for-grilling-in-parliament">portfolio committee meeting</a> in August 2016 gives MPs a chance to ask these and additional questions.</p>
<p>For instance, they should ask why under the new policies the role of editor-in-chief has shifted from the chief executive to the chief operating officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng. Motsoeneng is a highly controversial figure. He is accused of lying about his <a href="http://www.news24.com/Archives/City-Press/How-Hlaudi-Motsoeneng-lied-in-SABC-application-4-Es-and-an-F-in-matric-20150429">qualifications</a>, raising his own salary <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2014-02-17-sabcs-motsoeneng-unlawfully-hiked-salary-finds-madonsela">illegally</a> and pushing for the SABC to play a propaganda role by, for example, calling for <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2013-08-30-00-sabc-calls-for-70-happy-news/">70% “good news”</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, MPs need to ask some pointed questions about why the SABC has abandoned an open and transparent system of commissioning programmes that relied on “request for proposals”. Instead it has opted for a <a href="http://city-press.news24.com/News/hlaudi-fires-tv-boss-20160730-2">secretive</a> process that centres on Motsoeneng. It allows select producers to approach him directly, creating fertile ground for dodgy deals and corruption.</p>
<h2>Finances</h2>
<p>The second set of hard questions concerns the SABC’s finances. The broadcaster appears to have hit a cash flow problem and requires a major financial bail-out to continue operating.</p>
<p>Motsoeneng and the new acting CEO James Aguma have approached commercial banks for a <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/stnews/investigations/2016/07/10/Cash-starved-SABC-wants-bank-loan-of-R1.5bn">R1.5bn loan</a> to plug a current expenditure shortfall. Without additional borrowing it could soon be unable to pay suppliers and salaries.</p>
<p>The key source of these problems appears to be <a href="http://www.financialmail.co.za/features/2016/07/15/sabc-in-financial-meltdown?platform=hootsuite">financial mismanagement</a>. </p>
<p>Other reasons include ballooning staff and consultant costs, fruitless and wasteful expenditure on legal fees and <a href="http://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-sunday-independent/20160717/281779923469622">golden handshakes to staff</a>. </p>
<p>The most recent allegation of mismanagement involves the <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/stnews/2016/08/14/Gupta-pal-in-R380m-SABC-licence-fee-deal">awarding of a contract</a> to collect unpaid licence fees. Non-pensioner adults are expected to pay an annual fee of <a href="http://www.sabc.co.za/wps/portal/SABC/tvlicquestionanswer">R265</a>. The contract was allegedly awarded to a politically connected company without going out to tender.</p>
<p>Finally, Aguma reportedly plans to <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/stnews/2016/08/21/Now-SABC-boss-seeks-bonus-for-Hlaudi">pay Motsoeneng a bonus</a> for a questionable deal he signed with MultiChoice, the subscription television service, in 2013. </p>
<p>In terms of the deal, it was agreed that the SABC would supply MultiChoice’s DSTV platform with a 24 hour news channel, an entertainment channel and access to the SABC’s archives. MultiChoice was to pay R570m for a five year contract. </p>
<p>Industry insiders have argued that the SABC was hugely underpaid. Civil society organisations have instituted legal action against the SABC, <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2015-10-06-sabc-multichoice-deal-is-effectively-a-merger/#.V7onjCh96hc">arguing</a> that selling off its archives is equivalent to selling off the family silver. </p>
<p>Parliament needs to ask these hard questions and ensure rigorous follow-up on all the promises the broadcaster makes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64243/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Skinner received funding from the Open Society Foundation. She is affiliated with SOS: Support Public Broadcasting and the Right2Know Campaign. </span></em></p>There were high hopes that the SABC would become a true public broadcaster after the end of apartheid when it was used ruthlessly as a propaganda machine. But those hopes have since been dashed.Kate Skinner, PhD student in Media Studies, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.