Johnathan Paoli
South African media watchdog organisations have criticised what it claims is the latest attempt by the country’s State Security Agency (SSA) to target SABC head of news Moshoeshoe Monare.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF), Media Monitoring Africa (MMA), SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition and the Campaign for Freedom of Expression (CFE) have voiced their concerns in a statement over the recent allegations of the SSA’s attempts to persecute Monare.
The organisations said that this move undermines the fundamental principles of media and editorial independence and freedom of the press, and that it went against the purported purpose of the Critical Infrastructure Act that vetting was meant for security personnel only.
“Despite the clear threat to media freedom that the request to vet Monare poses, it is mind boggling and ridiculous that the request should come when the head of news has occupied the position for nearly two years”, the statement read.
The Monare and SSA saga stems from recent claims that there has been a link between the vetting process and utterances attributed to President Ramaphosa through a leaked recording of a NEC meeting of the ANC.
On the tape Ramaphosa is heard saying: “There has been negative reporting and all those things. We have agreed to take that up. We want fair treatment. We want more than fair treatment because we are the governing party. TV stations have no right to be negative towards us and always either are not reporting on our activities or just continuously brand us in a negative way”.
The Presidency, however, issued a statement on Monday rejecting claims of media interference and gave its own account in order to clarify the matter.
Spokesperson for President Cyril Ramaphosa, Vincent Magwenya, said that despite the confidential nature of vetting by the SSA, in which names of individuals being vetted are not released, there was an obligation to provide facts on the matter and dispel the doubts about the President’s commitment to media freedom as enshrined in the Constitution.
Magwenya said that the SABC made a request to to the SSA to conduct a vetting process on Monare, as per the established practice with all SABC executives, and that upon his appointment, Monare failed to provide all the required information, specifically his refusal to subject himself to a polygraph test.
The spokesperson said that this was not a second vetting as alleged, but rather the continuation of a process started in 2022; and that Monare, due to not being an active journalist at the broadcasting corporation.
He also informed that the new SABC Group Chief Executive, Nomsa Chabeli, is currently going through the same vetting process and that the current board of directors of the SABC went through a similar vetting process.
“President Ramaphosa or any part of his administration will never sanction acts of intimidation or harassment of journalists, because such behavior will stand contrary to sacrosanct adherence to the bill of rights that are enshrined in our country’s constitution,” Magwenya said.
The DA’s Shadow Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Natasha Mazzone, said that the party was deeply concerned over the allegations that Monare was being intimidated by the SSA in light of the leaked audio.
“The DA rejects any intimidation or threats against the media, whose independence is paramount to a robust democracy. The DA stands with a free press and a democratic society. We remain vigilant of the ANC’s growing authoritarianism,” Mazzone said.
Last week, DA Deputy Federal Campaign Manager Ashor Sarupen said that the president’s directive to control media narratives and suppress negative coverage of the ANC, was deeply concerning, adding that it was reminiscent of past attempts to capture vital institutions like the SABC.
“This blatant manipulation seeks to sway public opinion and undermine the democratic process. In light of these revelations, the DA calls on the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) to condemn this egregious manipulation of the media. SANEF, as a champion of media freedom and democracy, must not stay silent in the face of such flagrant abuses of power,“ said Sarupen.
SANEF, in a statement, called on the SABC board to publicly condemn any interference in its editorial processes and to uphold their responsibility to protect the independence of the SABC.
The statement said the Department of Communication and Digital Technologies (DCDT), in its role of ensuring a free and vibrant media landscape, should denounce this potential compromise of media independence.
Furthermore, SANEFimplored the Presidency to join in the condemnation of this intrusion into the state broadcasting in light of the need for public transparency and accountability.
SANEF said that it remained crucial for the media to perform its duties without fear and intimidation, especially during an election period.
“A politically compromised media is at risk of undermining a credible, free and fair election. We need to ensure, at all costs, that the media, especially the public broadcaster, are protected from any form of intimidation and threat,” the forum said.
The watchdogs called upon the Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni to identify the person or persons responsible for this interference and commit swift disciplinary action.
SANEF Executive Director Reggy Moalusi said the move undermines the fundamental principles of media, editorial independence, and freedom of the press.
“It can’t be that a head of news is targeted in this manner a month before the elections. We don’t understand why they want to vet him again; he has been vetted before. So, we call on the presidency and the board to act quickly so that we see a stop to this vetting and allow Moshoeshoe to focus on work that’s critical for the SABC news department,” Moalusi said.
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