Why I joined the protest
JULY 1, 2016 was appropriately dubbed Black Friday in South Africa. The secret and the not-so-secret shenanigans at the SABC demanded protest action outside the organisation’s offices across the country.
Wearing my academic hat and donning a shirt proclaiming “Media Freedom is Your Freedom. Insist on it”, I had to be part of the picket together with colleagues from the media fraternity which included my former students and members of NGOs on the periphery of the SABC’s premises in Durban.
I needed to add my small voice to the call for the SABC to put its crippling and crumbling house in order posthaste. And it was not the first time I had engaged in such action at the that same spot. In the early 1990s, I strongly supported the crusade by the Campaign for Independent Broadcasting for radio and TV services to be free of state control and for a transformed board at the SABC.
These ideals were realised in 1993 and paved the way for a new era in broadcasting in the country. The SABC had moved from being a state apparatus to a true public service broadcaster. I felt warmly welcomed at the SABC, and my relationship through the years with heavyweights at the corporation like Zwelakhe Sisulu, Hawu Mbatha, Govin Reddy, Max du Preez, Khaba Mkhize, Zakes Dube, Joe Thloloe, Mathatha Tsedu, Phil Molefe and Zamambo Mkhize bore fruit. Satisfied that the SABC had turned the corner, I accepted the invitation to serve as an adjudicator for its Radio Artes Awards.
Getting an inside track of the journalistic prowess at the institution, I was impressed. In the mid-90’s, the then Radio Lotus experienced turbulent times, and the station was on the brink of closure. I threw my hat in the ring, and delivered a paper titled “The Role of Media in Today’s Society” under the banner of the Save Radio Lotus Campaign at the Aryan Benevolent Home.
Reddy was at the time Head of Radio at the SABC. His ability to listen to and actively address issues related to the station were hallmarks of inspirational leadership.
The morning after one of the awards ceremonies, he even scheduled his flight from Johannesburg to Durban with mine to get a first-hand view of happenings surrounding Radio Lotus. Later that afternoon, he met with stakeholders at the University of Durban-Westville.
In June 2000, I addressed a conference in Banff, Canada. My paper focused on public service broadcasting, and the SABC was held in high esteem. The organisation became integrally involved in the International Radiocracy conference I hosted in September 2001.
Last Friday, it was not just the farcical suspension of journalists but the ongoing welfare of the countless committed staff with postmatric qualifications now under dark clouds at the corporation that propelled me to participate.
The disturbing dissonance is that a dysfunctional public service broadcaster undoes the post-apartheid work of distinction, delays societal development and causes prolonged damage. I refuse to be a mere armchair critic.
The rampant censorship engulfing the SABC cannot go unchecked. It flouts the very essence of freedom of expression as enshrined in the constitution. The crisis in governance and tales of unethical conduct abound. I commend the several SABC journalists, including Krivani Pillay, for not sitting back but taking a stand against the diabolical practices.
Pillay cut her teeth in journalism at the SABC in Durban. In 2005 she was nominated in the prestigious Editor’s Choice category in the Vodacom Journalist of the Year competition. I was on the judging panel, and Pillay punched above her weight and was unanimously declared winner. Her politeness, passion and professionalism shone.
The ANC has responded to the protest action by expressing its deep concern.
Perhaps also buoyed by comments by Tito Mboweni and Derek Hanekom, it is not just taking the cases of censorship at the SABC with a pinch of salt, as it realises far too well that the negative impact on its integrity and credibility will be massively difficult to overturn.
The ruling party cannot drag its feet on the issue. It has to act decisively and promptly. A delay will be detrimental.
The SABC cannot be anyone’s fiefdom nor can it revert to being a state broadcaster. South Africans can ill-afford the return of His Master’s Voice with propagandist tendencies.
As the picket progressed on Friday, I thought of two close friends. Ashok Ramsarup and Fakir Hassen were stalwarts at the SABC and both retired in May. They could not have called time at a better juncture.
With mission accomplished on Black Friday, I was about to drive off when a few SABC staff members approached me. They were appreciative of the stance of solidarity.
Sanity, sensibility and stability at the SABC are not negotiable!