Abstract
Credit: NASA’s Earth Observatory
The ANC’s growing paranoia has paved the way for new laws and a disturbing trend towards authoritarianism, reports
Cape Town
What has been particularly disappointing for us has been the extent to which the South African media has lied with impunity in its coverage. … This well orchestrated campaign we believe is with us till the 2014 General Elections.
These were the words of the General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), Blade Nzimande, at the end of 2012. He was speaking at an elective conference held by SACP allies the African National Congress (ANC) every five years. He added:
The print media, with very few exceptions, has in the run-up to this conference attacked the ANC, its current leadership and the government it leads. [A]dvice from the media … is toxic and not good for the health of the ANC, our Alliance and indeed our revolution as a whole.
Earlier in 2012, Nzimande, who also occupies a cabinet position as minister for higher education, expressed support for a law banning criticism of the president.
His conjuring up of an ‘orchestrated media campaign’ against the ruling party and its allies reflects growing paranoia among the rulers. The ANC’s main policy document at the December conference also highlighted ‘the growing onslaught against the movement’.
The liberation movement-cum-government is floundering in the face of the legacy of apartheid.
The country’s Gini coefficient – the most commonly used measure of income inequality – shows that South Africa remains one of the most unequal places in the world, amid mounting corruption and excesses of conspicuous consumption by a multi-racial elite.
Spontaneous strikes at mines and farms during 2012 publicly exposed dire living conditions among the working poor, not to speak of the unemployed – which is at about 35 per cent, including those who have stopped looking for work.
A police attack on the striking miners at Marikana in August 2012 left 36 people dead, many shot in the back as they were running away, eerily echoing the apartheid regime’s slaughter of unarmed protestors at Sharpeville in 1960. The Marikana massacre signals a general move towards authoritarianism, which has also included attacks against the constitutionally enshrined right to freedom of speech.
At the beginning of 2013, parliament will finally adopt the Protection of State Information Bill after more than two years of widespread resistance. Opponents of the bill range from Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer to the ANC’s labour ally, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu). It gave rise to the leftist Right2Know civil society campaign. While the ANC made a few small concessions, under the law, anybody possessing classified state information faces punishment, including prison sentences of up to 25 years.
Whistleblowers and investigative journalists are in the firing line: it is a no-brainer that the law targets the regular exposés of corruption. But non-governmental organisations and citizens may also find essential information blocked, for example, in cases of environmental scares or access to basic services. A veil of secrecy will also be drawn over the security agencies, such as the police, making them less accountable, despite evidence of greater impunity in their ranks. A constitutional court challenge is expected: the prevalent view is that the bill will not pass constitutional muster. Cosatu has referred it to its lawyers.
The future of media regulation will also be determined in 2013. Parliament will decide whether the press have made sufficient amends over news reports ‘defaming’ politicians. The ANC has threatened to replace the system of self-regulation with a ‘media tribunal’, despite the fact that there are existing laws against defamation in place. Proposed punishments included hefty fines for both media companies and individual journalists and even jail time.
Scrambling to fend off political interference, media owners and editors initiated a public consultation, resulting in an independent commission headed by a retired judge, putting forth recommendations. If adopted, these reforms, which await parliament’s stamp of approval, will lead to the adoption of a ‘voluntary independent co-regulation’. Meanwhile, President Jacob Zuma has lodged another 12 cases of defamation against the media, totalling over R50m (US$5.6m) – despite his much-vaunted withdrawal of a case against cartoonist Zapiro for damage to his reputation and invasion of his dignity in 2012. Judging by Zuma acolyte Nzimande’s continued hostility, the media are not in the clear yet.