Sunday Times *Media threatens freedoms by abusing them* *Siphiwe Nyanda, Sunday Times, Johannesburg, 1 August 2010*In recent days I have observed with interest the news media's sentiments around the envisaged media tribunal and Protection of Information Bill. I have also observed with interest how some senior editors remain oblivious to the irony of the actions of their own reporters, which threaten the very freedoms they enjoy by abusing them.
I am a proponent of media freedom, not only because I sacrificed my youth and career to join the liberation struggle to dismantle the apartheid system which, among other things, denied the media its basic freedoms. I'm also a proponent of media freedom because I have been a journalist. I was, as it were, in the trenches with some of the now senior or retired journalists who oppose the proposed legislation.
However, what my former colleagues fail to acknowledge is that the system under which their journalists operate is broken and needs fixing. If they had identified the problems and tried to fix them, the government would not have had a need to intervene. Some journalists have jettisoned their values and are now agents for political battles. I know this because I am one of the victims of this deplorable practice.
In the recent past there have been a lot of falsehoods peddled in the media about the termination of the employment of the director-general in my department, Mamodupi Mohlala. A lot of what was reported, especially by one Johannesburg-based newspaper, has been false, and malicious allegations were made against me apparently aimed at weakening my position in my quest to deal decisively with the problems that were impacting the department, including the breakdown of trust between the ministry and Mohlala.
I have spoken frankly and candidly about my reasons for terminating Mohlala's employment. She and I had fundamental differences about our understanding of what my role as the minister is and how far, if at all, I could exercise political oversight over the department. We had different understandings about the scope of her role as DG. There was uncertainty on the leadership of the department at executive management level.
In my attempt to resolve the impasse and to ensure service delivery was not compromised, I asked the DG to make representations to me regarding her role within the department. She responded through her attorneys, an act which further convinced me that there existed no trust between us. In the days before her departure, all communication between Mohlala and the ministry was through attorneys, a state of affairs that was clearly intolerable and untenable.
We had had confidential discussions through our respective attorneys with a view to reaching an amicable termination of the relationship. Unfortunately, these discussions yielded no positive results.
As minister, enjoined by the constitution to ensure that the department functions in accordance with its mandate and that service delivery is not impaired, I decided that it was in the interest of the department, our employees, the ICT sector and the public that I should terminate Mohlala's employment contract.
The said newspaper, quoting an unnamed source, alleged that my conflict with Mohlala was a result of my insistence that she award the department's tenders to my friends and business associates. There is no evidence that the newspaper sought Mohlala's reaction to this allegation. Certainly it did not attribute the allegation to her. I have on many occasions denied this allegation as it is patently false. However, the allegation still enjoys more currency than anything I or Mohlala have said since the story of her departure was reported.
The media has ignored my assurances that I no longer have any business interests. I resigned all directorships when I was appointed minister. Furthermore, I declared all my interests in accordance with the rules of the executive members' interests register. I am no longer a businessman; I am a full-time servant of the people.
As a businessman I conducted all my business affairs with integrity and due regard for the law, including the contract between Transnet and GNS, the company I was associated with. The Transnet tribunal which investigated the issuing of the contract made no adverse finding against GNS, let alone me. I was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the company as I was then CEO of Ngwane Defence. However, I will consider the Public Protector's findings and recommendations following her investigation into the matter.
As minister my role is to exercise political oversight over the department and to give it strategic direction. The issuing and adjudication of tenders is not, and should not, be the responsibility of the minister and I have never involved myself in that function. As long as I am deployed in government by the ANC and the president, I will not involve myself in the issuing of tenders.
The media has condemned me over the purchase of the ministerial cars and my stays at hotels in Cape Town. The cabinet and the ANC have pronounced themselves on these matters and I submit myself to the wisdom of these structures.
However, I do not understand how the purchase of cars and hotel stays, in the minds of some journalists, amount to corruption. I believe that the media trivialises corruption by tagging as such things done by politicians that they do not like. In doing so, they take the focus away from the very serious and urgent problem of corruption in our society.
The Fourth Estate is one of the fundamental pillars of our democracy and media freedom is essential in the pursuit of justice and the rule of law in society. However, when journalists auction themselves to the highest bidders and use their ink to further narrow political interests, instead of serving the public's right to know, they do a disservice to their profession and the public they should be informing.
* Nyanda is minister of communications*From: http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article579081.ece/Media-threatens-freedoms-by-abusing-them*
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