Our democracy needs a free press

Is President Jacob Zuma a democratic all of a sudden? A president whose house is built by taxpayers at R206m and is attempting to frustrate the Public Protector from investigating this loot cannot be a democrat. He is appealing a court decision to hand-over spy tapes as he did when he blocked Scorpions from investigating off-shore accounts, encrypted and getting hold of the diary that confirmed his meeting with Alan Thetard.

The president is skilful in attracting negative publicity and controversies.

When scandals, flops and blunders pile on his back, he seeks anything that will improve his profile. After the Sononogate scandal, he went to the Pretoria railway station, shaking hands with hawkers promising to help them. When Inkandlagate scandal was exposed, he went to Inanda to handover a house to a family of a struggle icon.

When he realised that he will lose a defamation case against the media and Zapiro, he diplomatically withdrew the case. With Zwelinzima Vavi paralyzed by his sex scandals and balance of power slightly in favour of the Zuma faction, the e-tolling battle has been lost and after elections it will be implemented.

A lot of effort has been put by comrades George Bizos, Ronnie Kasrils, Jay Naidoo, the Vavi faction in opposing the secrecy laws. Nobody disputes the need for any state to have secrets. We also know that some intelligence agencies are embedded or hide in the media to do espionage. At the same time, we are confronted by agents of the demon of corruption who first paralyzed SACP and went to the ANC and now paralyzing COSATU.

Even the political charmer Cyril Ramaphosa cannot defend the Inkandlagate scandal.

This mansion includes a family clinic but look at the health crisis in the Eastern Cape. Our young people are unemployed but look at the Zuma children, they are millionaires within five years. As part of Inkandla upgrade, the state built his first wife a R500 000 tuck-shop.

No media is ideologically neutral including The New Age which does not expose corruption by those in the inner-circle of President Zuma. It went as far as printing disinformation about Minister Fikile Mbalula who was contesting Gwede Mantashe.

We owe it to  Zwelakhe Sisulu, Percy Qoboza, Charles Nqakula, Aggrey Klaaste, Mathatha Tsedu, Ruth First, Themba Khumalo, Joe Gqabi, Govan Mbeki, Paddy Harper, Thami Mkhwanazi, Joe Thloloe, Union of Black Journalists, Writers Association of South Africa and many journalists who chose torture, imprisonment and loss of income than the false comfort of Judas Iskariot.

At a memorial service for fallen comrades in Orlando, Zwelakhe Sisulu said “they ban, stifle, gag, detain and even kill us but when Biko falls another one just as strong will emerge. The death of a messenger does not destroy a message”.

A true democrat who believes in an open and accountable government as enshrined in the Freedom Charter and Constitution cannot send secrecy laws back to parliament but simultaneously hide corruption.

SIYANDA MHLONGO

KwaDukuza