Media Freedom Day cartoon

Media Freedom Day

ANC and Freedom of the Press

Tuesday this week, the 19th October, was National Media Freedom Day in South Africa. There was certainly much cause to celebrate the day this year given recent events – not least because Freedom House’s annual index report on Freedom of the Press downgraded South Africa and neighbouring Namibia to partially free from its previously free status. Wait, that might be a bad thing.

“After exhibiting steady improvements since the end of apartheid, South Africa has been consistently ranked free by the [Freedom House] survey since 1995. In recent years, however, there have been a number of worrying trends, including more hostile government rhetoric toward the media, increasing political interference in the editorial independence of the SABC, the use of gag orders and other legal mechanisms to restrict reporting, and concentration of ownership in the print and broadcast sectors.”

A couple of weeks ago Wonkie published the Dummies Guide to Corruption in South Africa which described how senior government officials could easily use the Protection of Information Bill to stifle the media. It is quite ironic that the very type of legislation – also incidentally deemed in the national interest by the apartheid government – is currently being seriously considered by the ANC in spite of its obvious constitutional implications.

Black Wednesday exists to commemorate the banning of several black consciousness organisations and some newspapers – viz. The World and Weekend World, on 19 October 1977 by the apartheid regime. The World editor, Percy Qoboza, was arrested and jailed along with several other journalists. A number of political parties including Helen Zille’s DA and Azapo, and a coalition of over 370 organisations fronting as the Right2Know campaign are battling to keep what seems to be a derailed ANC intent on repeating the mistakes of the past honest.

Wonkie considered the possibility that the ANC’s intentions are already honest but just misinterpreted by absolutely everybody outside the party. In that case, one has to wonder though if the ANC is taking affirmative action one step too far by trying their best to create an equivalent travesty in the hopes of calling it White Wednesday someday.

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Comments

  1. This is the biggest lot of bullshit that any citizen can endure. Opposition parties, can you’ll do anything before this crap is legalised.

  2. Eish!! One would think that we learn from others and our own mistakes, but it just goes to proof how foolish and copy cats the human flesh can be. Copying apartheid by BEE, taking farms etc. nationalisation and now attacking the freedom of the press. What a bunch of fools we are, thinking we are educated, but no almost no Heavenly Wisdom: wisdom is considered as being foolish and foolishness as been exhalted as the optimum answer. A leopard can not change it’s spots. Only the Creator can Recreate and offers goodness, peace and prosperity. Why do the rulers of our country continously say: No thank you we like this mess we are creating.

  3. Hastheworldgonecrazy... says

    Can we start a petition? How many signatures would we need? And who would we send it to, who is of sane, logical mind? You’re right, Deena, it is utter bs!

  4. OLD FASHION says

    Peace you are so right, EISH!!!! If any one rules and they know they are conning their voters and the other citizens it is only logic that they do NOT want to be exposed as liars , thieves or corrupt. There is no other reason for wanting to halt the press. If they had nothing to hide or fear they would more then welcome the media to publish their good works and intentions.

  5. Eish!!! Nevermind gagging the media – we should be FAR more concerned with the ANC’s plan to scrap provinces and centralise power, FAR MORE !! We will then be truly on our way to becoming nothing, ie like the rest of the countries up North. They want to control everthing and don’t want other parties to succeed hence this move – this will be the start of very SERIOUS trouble for all of us who still think and not just follow. Wonder if I can afford that boat afterall……??????

  6. WHO CARES!!!!!!

  7. Its not about will we go the same way as Zimbabwe. Its about how much worse than Zimbabwe will we get when the ANC is finished with the country?

  8. Deena Naidoo says

    Yeah Hastheworldgonecrazy, lets start a petition., eh Jewel.

  9. pietpompies says

    We all know now why the ‘scorpions’ were disbanded – their investigations were too thorough and exposed the crooks in government and other places of government. Now the ANC want to muzzle the press for the same reason!
    DON’T LET IT HAPPEN – THE SAME FATE AS THE SCORPIONS!!!

  10. I CARE! Typical Ignorant Idiotic Uninformed comment from “manthata”

  11. I believe that with the whole world watching their every move, this corrupt ANC led government will not now gag the media as it had originally intended at Polokwane. However, by merely frightening the media, the ANC has cleverly done what they intended to without imposing legislation.
    The South African media will consequently in future strictly adhere to self censorship and will no longer criticise Zuma’s culture of having numerous wives and children, which we taxpayers are forced to pay for, and no longer will ANC corrupt politicians be exposed. South Africa has undoubtedly lost its main watchdog opposition. The opposition political parties are useless in that field. They just initially bleat about corruption in order to justify their existence, then you don’t hear from them again. The latest expenses travelgate 2 scam exposed by Patricia de Lille, revealed that DA and COPE members of parliment, had pocketed huge amounts of taxpayers money. As far as i am concerned all politicians in South Africa, of all political parties, are merely out to enrich themselves at taxpayers expense and to hell with the starving poor people of our country.

  12. We all know the ANC has derailed. All they can do is have talk shop after talk shop, saying the same things over and over about ending corruption and improving service delivery. They are totally out of touch with reality and have no insight into their inability to run the country. In the words of Thabo Mbeki, ‘they do not have the capacity’ (like mental capacity?). They don’t realize that they are bankrupting the country and themselves with it.
    So what are we going to do about it? Get ourselves all steamed up every week on Wonkie while the country and all the poor idiots who keep the newly wealthy corrupt idiots in power, go down the drain and drag us with them?
    I believe education has been kept bad because it is not in the interest of the ANC to have a literate population. In spite of totally wrecking a perfectly good education system that served learners perfectly well in the ‘bad’ old days, too many young people (the greater % of the population) are reading now, so the media has to be gagged so that they can keep stuffing themselves at the trough with out the annoyance of having people asking questions.
    So what is the answer?

  13. OLD FASHION says

    This is the time to protest and call out a national referendum as soon as possible. This will eliminate the use of tax payers money to canvass , have expensive rally’s blasting lies and promises to the poor masses. The longer those in power remains the more difficult it is going to be to repair all the damage that is being done. Nobody can deny the fact that we are all far worse off then we were 16 years ago. Health, education, law and order, unemployment, beggars on the streets, pregnant children, pulic services, transort etc etc. this list is actually too long to call it all. It just takes one man to start such a petition and I am convinced that everybody will take part.

  14. The central elements of democracy are transparency, accountability and public participation. The error most young democracies commit is that officials think they’re more important than those who voted them into power. The irony is that leaders are now spending tax payers money on bodyguards-to protect themselves from taxpayers!

    The distrust is so overwhelming that citizens are deprived of valuable information. The ANC wants to suppress information through the Protection of Information Bill. What they don’t mention is that the media exposes corruption by its members. The country is going through a leadership vacuum. Important institutions that defend democracy have been weakened by cadre deployment in the ANC.

    Until these institutions are bolstered by objective, professional and skilled individuals, the vacuum will continue to derail our democracy!

  15. Early voting YEH!! Lets jump start this petition, draw the lame hands and weak knees, this is our country and we want it to change for the better of all its citizens. Let’s do it orderly, get the petitions going in a decent acceptable manner without fear, hatred or animosity our aim is to prevent further decline in S A and rather to start rebuilding in a moral and respectable way.
    My name will be on that petition, what about you?

  16. Then, where is the freedom of speech if my organisation want to hold us ransom. Why don’t you call the referundum rather than forcing this madness to our throat.wake up my collegues in anc before its too late

  17. The ANC wants a free ticket to corruption- this is democracy ela ANC
    YOU VOTE FOR US – WE DO WHAT WE WANT; AND IT IS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU ;

  18. Scorpio Birch Acres says

    I was born a South African and, at 60, am set in my ways. However, I see no alternative but to accept my children’s invitation to go and live with them in Australia. God willing, I still have a good few working years left in me. My skills are much needed in RSA but I would rather offer them to a country that works. Under the ANC, the country is spiralling into absolute destruction and I am not prepared to go down with the ship. I’ll take a life boat.
    Yeah, I know it’s called the chicken run, but one has choices in life.

  19. Politicians of all political parties in South Africa are blatantly dishonest. Led by Zuma , they have all ensured that they are by far the richest group pf politicians in the world. They should be ashamed themselves that their main aim in life is to enrich themselves through crookery, whilst millions of South Africans live in abject poverty. I detest all of them. Even in the United Kingdom, the coalition government has made cuts in expenditure that effects the poor and will result in massive job losses. But only last year the media exposesd the theft by most of the 600 members of both parliments in order to enrich themselves. Has anyone noticed that politicians world wide never go without?

  20. SO WELL AND SO BAD FOR THE MEDIA TO SHOUT “SELF-REGULATION”WHILE IT INTENSIFIED ITS PROPAGANDA AND DOWN RIGHT LIES.

    ITS BIAS TOWARDS ZIMBABWEANS WHERE IN THE PAST THREE DAYS IT SPEWED OUT VERY STRONG ANTI-MUGABE VENOM AND DIATRIBE .

  21. Hi Wonkie Cartoons

    My details keeps on showing every time i open the comments page…please do something about this!

  22. ANC is moving backwards…from free to partially free, who knows maybe it will be totalitarian after this. ANC knows its too corrupt and they have something to hide, that is why they are silencing the media. They know that people will nolonger vote for them if they know what’s happening. ANC should leave the media alone, they have their problems to sort out, I would like to see an ANC tribunal instead of media tribunal.

  23. There are mistakes done by the media like publishing wrong information on the front page and apologise on the third page. That is mostly done every after two day in print media But that does not give the government a right to punish journalists and consitute media tribunal.

  24. `welcome tribunal out press ombuds…`if they have nothing to fear then they should have nothing to worry about the tribunal.

    They have been misinforming,disinfiorming and misleading the public and so is a green untested lie to argue that this tribunal will dfeny the public info.In Zimbabwe they told us biased,partisan and propagandistic stories.Here in Joburg they are telling the public street urchins,tramps,hawkers are law-abiding citizens but they know that in Harare and Capetown long wanted criminals by interpol and local police and prison authorities were hiding among the above!They k now that joburg is a mafia kngdom but tell the public its now safe and clean but has never been any dangeroyus than now!

  25. Yes Tim, I agree that Jo,burg is a mafia kingdom. But thank goodness for press freedom, otherwise we would never have heard that Mr PetroSA, financier of the ANC, was arrested for trying to hijack a mining company, with the help of CIPRO, nogal. Come to think of it, it would be more appropriate to call the whole ANC government the new mafia. I wonder what Mr PetroSA did to upset them?

  26. Binky wa-Rosina says

    The majority of African contries took the same route now followed by the ANC. Innocent but in a subtle way, oppressive laws that are intended to take away peoples fundamental rights. In the majority of cases this enactment of undemocratic laws goes with a lot of arrogance on the part of those who claim to have fought for the freedom of the country.

    The unfortunate scenario of a party trying to come up with dragonian laws is the direct result of the typical African quasy democracy whereby one party stays in power for donkey years. Lack of democracy education with the masses of preliterate people who, just like Mugabe’s Zanu PF, think that without the ANC there’s no South Africa. They are so wrong. A democracy can only be trusted if there’s a change of political parties into government withour any blood- shed. Do you think this will happen in this country?

  27. We do not have to guess what the major problem in Africa is, all we need to do is read Leviticus 20 vers 7 :” If anyone goes to people who consult the spirits of the dead, I says GOD will turn against them and no longer consider them as my people” wether you believe it or not it does not make it any less real. No wonder they are living under a curse. People who pass over from this life their spirits depart to the LORD for the day of judgement and can not return to this earth. The spirits that appear to those calling upon them are is satans regime and are master impersonators, so they deceive the people and they are caught in the evil web.

  28. Tannie,that is not what the issue here is all about.The media has been dragged into this colonialists/third force gang and everything it is embarking on is on the whims and dictations of this gang!The media is out to hold African leaders on a strangklehld so that thy must never embark on action alone without the involvement of the white man.So its objection to the Tribunal is bcause the Tribunal will end this sources nonsense and its propagandistic and biased and partisan reporting.

  29. Consolidate says

    Tim, it seems to be difficult for you to distinguish between right and wrong you are using colours black and white and is fooling yourself. Judge according to deeds and discard colour. There are many humans of various nations who are honest and truly sincere, these are the people who do not conform to this world, they are Kingdom children who distance themselves from the evil man creates for themselves. I do not normally respond to these columns, reads it to see the different reactions and responses people come up with. Should you not rather lookup to the Father the creator whom so many are rejecting because they do not believe that HE is really there and yet all the laws of do’s and dont’s come from HIM , if this was not so then why are there laws? We could all do as we like and who says it is wrong because then it is only what some humans have regarded as wrong or right.
    so who can proof what is right and wrong then. I leave you to look for the answer and maybe you will find it.

  30. I fail to understand why you people are so worried about the media, it is print media that has a problem, actually some newspapers must be completely banned from circulation.
    Do you remember what the media reported prior to the world cup

    Judge for your self.

  31. JAA…NORMALLY I DON`T COMMUNICATE WITH PHANOMS BUT WITH THOSE WHO PROVE THEY`RE REAL LIVING BEINGS BY PROVIDING THEIR REAL NAMES WHEN CORRESPONDING BUT SINCE YOU HAD THE GUTS TO COME AND DEMONSTRATE YOUR NAIVETTE,GULLIBILITY AND VULNERABILITY AND IGNORANCY QUITE ARROGANLY I WILL GIVE YOU THE BENEFIT OF DOUBT AND CONTRIBUTE NOT RESPOND TO YOUR ARTICLE!

    WE ARE HERE IN SOUTH AFRICA AN ARE UIDED BY THE 1996 cONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA AN THE WORLD IS WATCHING AS TO IF WE ARE LIVING THIS CONSTITUTION OR THAT OF THE STATUS QUO!

    THIS CONSTITUTION STATS QUITE CLEARLY WHAT WE AS SOUTH AFRICANS MUST DO IN ORDER TO LIVE A LIFE FAR-REMOVED FROM THAT OF THE PAST AN WE ARE DEFYING IT ANDC CONTINUE TO LIVE OUR LIVES OUTSIDE OF IT!WHITES ARE PRESERVING AND RESTORING WHITE SUPREMACISM AND BLACKS ARE GANGSTERISING THEMSELVES SO I HAVE A RIGHT TO BE PISSED-OFF BY SOUTH AFRICANS BECAUSE THY DON`T WANT TO B PATRIOTIC AND LOYAL CITIZENS BUT WHITES AND BLACKS FIGHTING EACH OTHER OVER TRIVIAL ISSUS LIKE ZIMBABWE AND INFO BILL.

    WHY ARE THERE LAWS BECAUSE THEY DON`T APPLY TO WHITES BUT BLACK!AFTER THE ATTACKS ON FOREIGNERS BLACK DWELLINGS WERE RAIDED BUT NO SUCH RIDS TOOK PLACE ON WHITE PLOTS AN FARMS TO SEARCH FOR BACK-YARD MILITARY BASES AFTER NEL ADMITTED THAT HIS FATHER TRAINED HIM IN HIS BACK-YARD!

    WHITES ARE NEVER STOPPED AND SEARCHED ON PAVEMENTS NOR ASKED FOR THEI ID`s TO CHECK THEIR LEGALITY!

  32. Lenin duped the Russian people. When they opened their eyes it was too late and it took some seventy years to overthrow the oppression. Mugabe duped the Zimbabwean people and now he rules through fear and terror and he can’t survive a free and fair election. This government opresses the electorate by trading on their ignorance. There is nothing a despot fears more than a free press.

  33. Mugabe did not dupe nyone since since his coming into power he has taken his people along amidst tough terrains bcause the former special orces were also bent on destabilisation so that the black government must not progress and blacks not enjoy any freedom!

  34. Mugabe should be tried in the international criminal court for his crimes against his people. During the 1980s, he unleashed his North Korean trained brigade to murder and rape thousands of his people in Matabeleland, merely because they supported leaders who were politically opposed to him and his ZANUPF party. World renowned and respected judge Richard Goldstone, has said that Mugabe should be tried but this ANC government has said nothing and never condemmened the proven Matabele massacres and whoelsale rape by the Mugabe regime. That should surely enlighten South Africans about the true character of the ANC and what that evil party could get up to if they manage to gag the media in SA. The ANC is already labelled the most corrupt political party on the continent of Africa and is uncannily similar to the Mugabe ZANUPF regime in outlook. Pure pure evil.

  35. Hi Tim. take your blinkers off. I was in Matebeleland while the Gukaruhundi were sweeping through. I saw the bodies. I have also met and entertained Mugabe on two ocassions. Shake your head, your eyes are stuck. Perhaps you would like to share some of your evidence of what you say with us.

  36. PS Tim. The ANC duped you also

  37. 1980 is right here on our doorstep because the “third force’of BENNET AND HIS GANG TRAINED MANDEBELES AND MAKHALANGAS IN MLITARY DIRTY TRICKS AND ARE NOW BUSSING THEM TO SOUH AFRICA TO COM AND ANNIHILATE BLACKS AND BE THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY THROUGH MURDER,TERROR,ASSAULTS,HUMILIATION AND EMBARRASSMENT,EMPOVERISHMENT,DENIAL OF OPPORTUNUTITIES AND BENEFITS,CONSTANT INSINUATIONS AND INNUENDOS,DIVIDE AND RULE AND DENY FREEDOMS!

    THAT WAS WHAT PRECIPITATED THE COUNTER-TERRORISM ACTIONS OF 1980 AFTER MUGABE DETECTED A CAMPAIGN INITIATED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN SPECIAL FORCES WHERE THEY TRAINED AND ARMED NKOMOS ZIPRA WITH THE INTENTION OF GRABBIN POWER!NORTH KOREACAME ONLY TO OFFER TRAINING AND LOGISTICAL SUPPORT TO THE ARMY OF ZIMBABWE AND DID NOT TAKE PART AT ALL.WOULD MUGABE NOT HAVE TAKEN THOSE PRE-EMPTIVE MEASURES HE COULD HAVE BEEN TOPPLED ON THAT DAY.

    I`M NOT AN UNINTELLIGIBLE AND BLINKERED VOTER THAT`S WHY THEY HAVE TRIED MANY TIMES TO ASSASSINATE ME BECAUSE THAT`S EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE EXPOSED TO!

  38. Tim, I think you are paranoid. There is a lot of garbage coming out of your mouth. Why should you be so important that ‘they’ would want to assassinate you. Go see a psychiatric counsellor to get rid of your persecution complex.

  39. Hi Tanni. You are so right. One wonders what events in Tim’s life have bent him so much. It would be nice if he could provide statistically balanced evidence to back up his perspective.

  40. STUPID:STUPID:STUPID BUNCH ARE THESE MATABELES AND MAKHALANGAS WHO GOES AROUN THE WORLD OFFERING THEMSELVES TO WHITES TO BE ABUSED BUT THEY PROCLAIM THEMSELVES EDUCATED AND PROFESSIONAL IN SOUTH AFRICA BUT THEY ARE GRACING OUR SECURITY GUARD INDUSTRY WORKING UNDER TERRIBLE CONDITIONS AND SUPERMARKETS AS SHELF PACKERS.THERE`S TSVANGIRAI MAKNG A FOOL OF HIMSELF TRYING TO CONVINCE ALL THAT HE IS AN INDEPENDENT SOMEBODY BU ITS ON PUBLUIC RECORDS THAT HE`S A LEPER,APPARITCHIK AND SYCOPHANT OF THE BENNETS.HE LICKS THEIR PINK,SOUR ASSES!

  41. I`m not in zimbabwe but in South Africa so talking issues-south african!got it?the only time the media will regulate itself will be when it wrench itself from the owners control and politics!

    currently, owners wants their media to highlight issues that are dear to their symantics,religions and politics.There`s no editorial independence here but owners independence!the zimbabwe situation has taught me a geat deal about the media`s role in countries affairs where it directly took sides by favouring one over the other then villifying and pilloring the other!

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