Mbeki’s SABC ‘special‘ raises hackles
The interview has drawn outrage from Mbeki’s opponents in the ANC and its allies, with the Young Communist League (YCL) accusing the public broadcaster of favouring Mbeki over ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma.
SABC said last night the interview would be carried on 15 of its public service radio stations.
Mbeki and Zuma will face off when an increasingly bitter leadership race reaches its climax at Polokwane later this month.
The SABC’s alleged bias towards Mbeki and the ANC government has been a consistent theme of opposition parties, with the recent “blacklist” furore raising concern that public figures not sympathetic to Mbeki were being censored.
YCL secretary Buti Manamela said yesterday the interview, to be broadcast between 7pm and 9pm, amounted to “manipulation” and the use of the broadcaster for “a narrow and opportunistic” leadership contest within the ANC. Manamela said the justification was that Mbeki would be addressing the nation, but this was a “cover for him to have an opportunity, as cabinet ministers have had in the recent period, to convene activities under the guise of government work and use them to campaign for ANC leadership”.
SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago could not be reached for comment.
However, staffers at the broadcaster said management had told them that the two-hour interview was taking place.
The YCL said in an open letter to SABC CEO Dali Mpofu that the broadcaster’s handling of the matter was inconsistent with its editorial code of practice.
“We hereby demand an end to the abuse of the public broadcaster. The YCL calls on you as the editor-in-chief to step in and restore the credibility of the SABC. We demand that this campaign interview be cancelled immediately,” Manamela said
The league said if the SABC failed to answer its concerns it would reinforce suspicions that it was being manipulated.
The interview with Mbeki coincides with a new bid by his supporters to stop the rot ahead of Polokwane, after the ANC’s provincial bodies voted by a margin of 5-4 for Zuma to take the ANC’s presidency.
The SABC said last night it would give Zuma the same opportunity.
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