Buttering up the press a waste of money, says DA

eTHEKWINI's proposal to spend R163 000 on improving its relationship with the media got a resounding no vote from the Democratic Alliance at the monthly council meeting last week.

Councillor Martin Meyer, in voicing his objection to the proposal, said it was nothing more than frivolous spending by the municipality.

Despite their objections, the DA were outvoted by a majority ANC yes vote who opted to spend the money on what Meyer described as , 'the mayor wining and dining' the media to try to get more positive press.

“It seems the municipality only wants the community to read good things about the city in the newspapers from now on. And it seems this will be achieved by wining and dining the media. I can’t decide whether this is naïve or a purposeful waste of money. It is either naïve, because giving newspaper heads a nice meal will not influence what they print, or it is just an opportunity to visit Johannesburg? All those media houses that will be visited in Johannesburg have offices right here in Durban, which would save the municipality some money,” he said.

He said the municipality and others had been on the receiving side of bad press, which was frustrating at times, but pointed out that the media did not create news, but merely reported it.

“If the city wants more good press, they should do more good things! Sort out the corruption exposed in the Manase report. Fix the problems identified by the auditor general and get that clean audit report. Stop the tender irregularities and have transparent housing lists, then the media will report on these good things,” he said.

Meyer said he felt instead of spending money on a function at the ICC or somewhere in Johannesburg, the city should spend part of the R163 000 on capacity building in the department responsible for liaising with the media, or on good quality service delivery which the media could then write a good quality report on.