ANC’s Bara banner ‘must be removed’
A large ANC banner that has covered about 50m of the boundary wall of South Africa’s largest hospital for two weeks has to be removed, as it contravenes the country’s laws and government guidelines.
The banner that greets patients at the entrance to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Diepkloof, Soweto, bears the smiling face of President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC’s election message: “Let’s do more together. Vote ANC.”
Erected on April 14, it is understood to infringe provisions of the Public Service Act, 1994 (PSA), as well as guidelines on the abuse of state facilities to benefit a political party set out by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
Gauteng health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said the banner had been put up by a media company that regularly uses the boundary wall for advertising at the hospital.
A portion of the money paid for the advertising space goes to the revenue collection section of the provincial department of health, which helps to boost its budget.
Modiba said the company had been “instructed” and given until the end of the week to remove the banner. However, yesterday it was still there.
“In relation to the current [ANC] wall banner on the hospital’s boundary wall, the company concerned was contacted [and] reminded of guidelines provided to them relating to the types of adverts allowed and not permitted in public facilities,” said Modiba.
Modiba said if the company failed to comply with the instruction to remove the banner, the hospital would then “be forced to [take] it down”.
The Sunday Times has established that the company that installed the banner is Hale Outdoor, run by former TV personality Tshepo Mabona.
According to a five-year contract signed in 2015, Hale pays a monthly rental to the hospital board of R2,000 for the advertising space. This amount is fixed for the duration of the contract, which could be renewed until 2025.
Efforts to get comment from Mabona were unsuccessful, as his phone rang interminably, and he had not responded to text and WhatsApp messages by the time of going to print. Modiba said all media companies using government facilities were aware of the compliance guidelines.
“These companies are provided with terms and conditions to practise within government policies and regulations, which include not using government buildings to promote any political party,” Modiba said.
The health-care facility has been on the receiving end of public criticism for a number of failures, including postponements of scheduled surgeries owing to issues such as pipe bursts and water-supply problems.
Despite its woes, the third-largest hospital in the world was a venue of choice for the ruling party’s election campaign as the countdown to the May 29 polls intensifies.
Modiba said billboards and adverts put up at public facilities such as hospitals were being monitored regularly, and if there was a breach of the regulations, media companies would be given notice to remove them.
“In the last election, for example, a company was requested to [take] down another political party advert at the nurses’ home,” Modiba said.
The PSA provides that, if a public servant uses “his or her position in the public service to promote or to prejudice the interests of any political party”, this amounts to misconduct.
The IEC’s code of conduct discourages the abuse of a position of power, privilege or influence to influence the outcome of an election.
The GCIS has an updated communicators handbook, published in 2023, which prescribes how government communicators should conduct themselves during an election period, and which prohibits the use of state resources to promote political parties.
Nomonde Mnukwa, GCIS acting spokesperson, said section 18.7 of the handbook covered the unlawful use of state resources during an election period.
The GCIS had not been made aware of the use of Baragwanath Hospital’s boundary wall to advertise the ANC.
“We are not aware of any instances where public servants have used, or are using, state resources for party-political purposes,” she said.
Mnukwa said the GCIS conducted induction programmes and follow-up training of communicators during which various operational issues were covered.
The ANC did not respond to queries.