Gareth speaks out over letter

CONTROVERSIAl radio personality Gareth Cliff has responded to the backlash he received over his open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa. He claims that those who thought he was speaking for white people are making it all about him, and not the issues he raised.

In his letter, Cliff said South Africans’ “patience and emotional state of affairs are on a knife-edge” during the nationwide lockdown and many were “losing hope”.

“Many of us aren’t afraid of the virus any more; it’s our health and we’ll take our chances, thank you. We are afraid of the havoc your lockdown is wreaking on the economy, on people’s lives and livelihoods,” he said, warning that losing the confidence of the people could end in disaster for the government.

While many voiced their outrage at Cliff’s open letter, The Star told listeners on his CliffCentral show this week he was not speaking for anyone but himself.

“People who say: ‘Oh, you’re speaking on behalf of white people or people with money,’ I’m like no, you’re projecting me into this story; it’s not about me. I find this whole thing bizarre.” He added that he had said what he thought a lot of people were feeling.

He also denounced claims that he was being disrespectful to the president or cabinet ministers making decisions, adding that he had nothing personal to gain from his open letter.

Cliff said some columnists had shared his sentiments but hadn’t received the backlash he had.

“I read Barney Mthombothi’s column in the Sunday Times; he was pretty much echoing precisely the sentiments that I have… I don’t know if he got this hatred; maybe it was because he is not white...”