Daily News

Beneficiar­y of the Solidarity Fund entangled in ANC factional battles

- BONGANI HANS bongani.hans@inl.co.za

WHILE South Africans may be grateful for the establishm­ent of the Solidarity Fund for the fight against Covid-19, the existence of a more digression­al purpose has come to the fore as it also benefits a marketing company that is entangled in a social media battle against President Cyril Ramaphosa’s detractors.

Former president Jacob Zuma and his supporters have become the prime target of a smear campaign driven by the Centre for Analytics and Behavioura­l Change (CABC), which has benefited from the Solidarity Fund.

The CABC, a Section 18a non-profit organisati­on (NGO), formed in 2017 and incubated at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, received a budget allocation of R1.5 million for providing research and analytics services for the Solidarity Fund for a five-month period “of the vaccine demand creation campaign”.

A CABC spokespers­on, who preferred not to be named, said the CABC was a non-partisan, independen­t NGO working on analysing and countering divisive narratives online. He avoided responding to questions, but instead attacked Independen­t Media, accusing it of seeking to write a biased story.

“We cannot, in good conscience, participat­e in nefarious reporting unless we can be assured of compliance with the press code and independen­t adjudicati­on of disputes through credible organisati­ons such as the Press Council,” the spokespers­on said.

Solidarity Fund’s spokespers­on Didi Masoetsa said the CABC was working together with a giant advertisin­g and marketing agency, Joe Public United, in providing services for the fund.

“The budget is specifical­ly directed towards almost real-time research and analytics that is used for demand-creation communicat­ion that is relevant and up to date at all times, and that all stakeholde­rs can make use of.

“This is to ensure that the correct message reaches the correct people to mitigate vaccine inertia while driving positive vaccine sentiment,” Masoetsa said about the money spent on the CABC.

The CABC, however, has gone allout to target ANC leaders and members who are associated with the radical economic transforma­tion (RET) faction. Operating under the guise of the South Africa Vaccine Project, the CABC is seemingly using cyberbully­ing tactics against detractors of Ramaphosa and white monopoly capital.

On its website, it is clear that part of the CABC’S function is to fight against

RET. Following the riots in Kwazulu-natal and Gauteng, the CABC engaged in a witch-hunt against Twitter users it branded as “The Dirty Dozen”.

The CABC’S smear campaign is clear in its document entitled, “The Dirty Dozen & The Amplificat­ion of Incendiary Content During the Outbreak of Unrest in South Africa July 2021”. It identified 12 Twitter accounts, which it accused of being central to the unrest.

In another document entitled, “Democracy 2021 Project – Online RET Network Analysis”, the CABC linked those it accused of being behind the riots to suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, MKMVA spokespers­on Carl Niehaus and Zuma.

The CABC said some social media users had accounts whose activities were in line “with the goals of a faction that is known within the ANC as RET Forces. At the CABC we are mandated to research, report on and intervene into narratives containing mis- and disinforma­tion where it negatively impacts social cohesion. Thus, we are obligated to publish this report that unpacks the use of deliberate tactics by a network of inauthenti­c accounts to manipulate the online conversati­on,” read the report.

Among those who had been targeted by the CABC is Sphithiphi­thi Evaluator, who is known for expressing views that are in favour of the RET faction and against white monopoly capital. Sphithiphi­thi Evaluator was among several other social media commentato­rs who were arrested in connection with the unrest, while others were harassed.

Kwazulu-natal-based RET activists supporter Nkosentsha Shezi also claimed to be a target of the CABC’S “malicious” campaign because of his opinion on Twitter. He described the CABC’S conduct as an infringeme­nt of freedom of speech, which undermined his right in society as he was entitled to make his opinion known.

Shezi questioned the methodolog­y applied by the CABC in conducting its research and also accused it of taking part in ANC factional battles. “In fact, they are defending a side of the white monopoly capital, and I suspect (they) are the ones who are misleading the president.”

National Prosecutin­g Authority (NPA) Gauteng spokespers­on Phindile Mjonondwan­e said seven alleged instigator­s in Gauteng were being prosecuted. She said the NPA was an apolitical organisati­on and was not influenced by politics in prosecutin­g the accused.

She said the NPA would be guided by the investigat­ion process. “We cannot say that they will be sentenced or not, but we know they have a case to answer.”

 ?? | PIXABAY ?? THE Solidarity Fund says the budget for the CABC is specifical­ly directed towards almost realtime research and analytics that is used for demand-creation communicat­ion that is relevant and up to date at all times, and that all stakeholde­rs can make use of to ensure that the correct message reaches the correct people to mitigate vaccine inertia while driving positive vaccine sentiment.
| PIXABAY THE Solidarity Fund says the budget for the CABC is specifical­ly directed towards almost realtime research and analytics that is used for demand-creation communicat­ion that is relevant and up to date at all times, and that all stakeholde­rs can make use of to ensure that the correct message reaches the correct people to mitigate vaccine inertia while driving positive vaccine sentiment.

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