Apology to Zibele Limani and KSD Municipality

THE Press Council of South Africa’s Appeal Panel has directed the Daily Dispatch to apologise to Zibele Limani, who was acting spokesman for the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) local municipality, for breaching Article 1.1 of the Press Code, which states: “The media shall take care to report news truthfully, accurately and fairly.”

The apology refers to a report headlined, Ratepayers

accuse KSD of ‘ambush’, published on November 29 2017. The central theme of the article is that the KSD municipality blocked the accounts of residents who were in arrears from purchasing lectricity.

Limani contended that the Dispatch journalist misquoted him by reporting: “KSD has denied blocking the accounts, and Limani yesterday blamed a ‘glitch’ in the system”. He further argued that the reference to KSD as “cash-strapped” was mischievous. The Dispatch stood by the accuracy of the article and contended that it had accurately reported what had transpired between the reporter and Limani.

After a hearing between the parties, the Appeals Panel, headed by Judge Bernard Ngoepe, concluded that the reporter gave the incorrect impression in the report and failed to take care to report the news accurately.

The Dispatch apologises for this breach of the Press Code. The Appeals Panel dismissed the complaint about whether the municipality was cash-strapped and contended that after assessing the various factors pointing to the indebtedness of the KSD holistically, it is of the view that there is “a reasonable basis for the respondent to describe the municipality as cash-strapped”.

Limani’s assertions suggesting some mischievous intent on the part of the reporter was also deemed unfounded. For the full ruling, please visit our website, www.presscouncil.org.za