Cdes, Reading this letter, it's just a waste of time to try and respond to it - it's badly written and says nothing. Remember that some in the media think that they have a blank cheque to do as they wish. He is basically referring to issues which we've dealt with in the past... based on his three main grievances, he believes Jimmy must be fired.
Here you are dealing with a very aggrieved person - he is just using Jimmy Manyi as a stress reliever, I think he is finding solace on the fact that he can written to the first citizen of the Republic and spew bile without being reprimanded. Remember that the South African media is yet to transform in reflecting the democratic South Africa - cdes are working long hours, not properly remunerated and ownership remains predominantly white and foreign. The ANC reflected on this matter pre- the past NGC. The issue here is not Jimmy Manyi. This issue about what Manyi said about coloreds in South Africa is that it only came out when the announcement was made that he was taking over from Themba Maseko. The same media saw neither public interest nor political correctness of what he said until they could use it against the man. This is wrong. And I am saying this without venturing into whether what Manyi said was right or wrong because its not an issue. Regards, Sibusiso ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Gugu Ndima Sent: 27 May 2011 11:30 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [YCLSA Discussion] OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT JACOB GEDLEYIHLEKISA ZUMA-ABOUT GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON JIMMY MANYI Guys, See below, what is your take and I really think people are just out to get Comrade Jimmy Manyi? Gugu OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT JACOB GEDLEYIHLEKISA ZUMA DEAR: Honorable president DATE: 27 May 2011 I'm sorry to bother you at a time when you just concluded your long and tiring local government elections campaigns, as well you dealing with the recent crisis in Libya including the returning of veteran photographer Anton Hammerl's corpse to his mother land and of course running our beloved nation. Mr. President I write this letter to inform of you as a patriotic citizen of South Africa, former journalist, communication practitioner and a leader of youth and students of this nation. This letter solemnly intends to kindly request you to save the communication industry from disgrace and blasphemy fuelled by one of your appointees who is Mr. Jimmy Manyi head of government communications and information services (GCIS), who also becomes spokesperson of the cabinet you preside. Let me first indicate that I hold nothing against Mr. Manyi but I strongly hold contrary views on most of his views in dealing with issues of national interest like race. I also hold a legitimate view that he is not a suitable person to speak on decisions and views of your epitome cabinet especially with his recent conspicuous attacks on journalists and media in general. In 2010 speaking as president of black management forum (BMF) he said "I think it's very important for coloured people in this country to understand that South Africa belongs to them in totality not just the Western Cape. So this over-concentration of coloureds in the Western Cape is not working for them. They should spread in the rest of the country... so they must stop this over-concentration situation because they are in over-supply where they are so you must look into the country and see where you can meet the supply". It's true he said this outside the scope and the position he holds in government, however with strong racial and affirmative action policies your cabinet represents a person who has wittingly contravened and deterred the values and ethos of a rainbow nation and prosperous South Africa should be punished without consideration. I'm also disappointed about the fact that you kept mum on this when it was in the public which raised eyebrows in most corners of society about your views on this matter, however I believe you one amongst many who fought and still strive against racial discrimination and hate with the contempt it deserves. In March 2011 he called a media briefing to announce that there is an upcoming government newspaper because of these reasons I quote "The media is censoring a lot of government information, Niyasivusa ukuba sizenzele [You are waking us up to do things ourselves]." I have nothing against government propaganda machinery but it should not be brought about using the media as scapegoat, especially with the constitutional democracy we all embrace and known for. He is totally missing the fundamental points of the nature and character of media operations; he is not playing the game but the man. In the most recent incident he calls a media briefing to read out a statement of two lines regarding the vacant position of international monetary fund (IMF), to make matters worse he refuses to deliberate and be engaged by journalist present at a briefing and chose to bully and shrug off his ego. This is not how a spokesperson of a cabinet should behave when addressing his major stakeholders (media), maybe is the people surrounding him who are misleading him but that's beside the point I'm making. Mr. President these are basics for any media personnel, I'm sure even a first year in my university knows this by now. In fact he should first apologise to the whole nation, before you do the honorable thing of removing him as your cabinet spokesperson. In the main I request with many other fellow South Africans who share the same sentiments like me about Mr. Manyi and what he represents and stands for. I further call upon that you ensure us who are fond of media freedom and uphold constitutional democracy that you quickly work on revamping and overhauling the entire communication strategies and channel's your government and cabinet is currently using. This because I believe they do not meet international standards and the syllabus taught to communicators currently in South African universities and media institutions is way contrary to cabinets understanding of communication, maybe if you could appoint and employ qualified communicators and strategisers would probably be singing a different tune now. Honorable president let me again apologise for wasting your time I'm sure you have more commitments and engagements as head of state, but I urge you take contents of this letter serious and into consideration as it represents views of many who could not write a letter. I wish you well in your future endeavors Masilela Zwelo (Pretoria South Africa) For more info: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> 071 912 4680 -- Gugu Ndima +27 76 783 1516 -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
