Only a united ANC can meet the needs of the poor

Our country has gone through eventful and puzzling few days. We have seen members of the ANC calling media conferences to outline problems they have with the organisation or to announce their resignation from the movement. This has been carefully choreographed to give a picture of a crippling crisis of sorts in the African National Congress.

Granted, there have been organisational challenges within the ANC for years and we have never hidden this fact. We have acknowledged that the build up to the Polokwane conference had been robust but also very bitter and painful. Preferences for certain candidates were so pronounced that some members whose candidates were not elected at the conference might have felt that they have lost their home in the ANC. Such thinking is alien to the movement. The ANC belongs to all its members equally.

Conference instructed the ANC leadership to engage members in every Province in a process of organisational renewal, to heal the rifts and re-unite the organisation after Polokwane. The difficulties in some of the Provinces pre-dated Polokwane, and had not been attended to over a period of time. We had to revert to old tried and tested traditions of the movement, to re-open the space for internal debate which had been closed for years, so that members could talk and help to heal the rifts.

The National Working Committee have since January 2008 been meeting in various Provinces on Mondays to work with our structures to resolve differences and unite the ANC, in line with the 1912 mandate from the founding fathers and mothers of our movement.

It has been an uphill battle in some provinces due to entrenched positions as matters had been left unresolved for too long. It has been a difficult exercise also because it became clear that some of our senior members had decided to challenge the authority of the new leadership, either in government or in some structures of the organisation. The democratic notion of accepting the choice of the majority despite one's own preferences appeared to have been thrown out of the window.

We found ourselves with members who had dubious agendas and who clearly did not want to be led. We are pleased that they have now come out into the open instead of operating clandestinely within our structures. We urge others who are actively working behind the scenes to also declare their intentions and allow the ANC to move forward in unity.

It is interesting to note that such a challenge is nothing new, judging by what our icon Isithwalandwe Nelson Mandela said during a Presidential address to the Transvaal ANC congress in 1953 entitled: No Easy Walk to Freedom".

"In Congress there are still many shady characters, political clowns, place-seekers, saboteurs, provocateurs, informers and policemen who masquerade as progressives but who are in fact the bitterest enemies of our organisation. Outside appearances are highly deceptive and we cannot classify these men by looking at their faces or by listening to their sweet tongues or their vehement speeches demanding immediate action. The friends of the people are distinguishable by the ready and disciplined manner in which they rally behind their organisation and their readiness to sacrifice when the preservation of the organisation has become a matter of life and death. Similarly, enemies and shady characters are detected by the extent to which they consistently attempt to wreck the organisation by creating fratricidal strife, disseminating confusion and undermining and even opposing important plans of action to vitalise the organisation".

We respect the right of anybody to form political parties of their choice and to resign from the ANC. This is a free country and membership of the ANC is voluntary. No serious liberation movement would allow factionalism within its ranks and permit people to undermine it openly from within as this will halt the progress the ANC is making to speed up change in its effort to create a better life for all.

That is why we have suspended factionalist members in order to unite and refocus our organisation. It is only a strong and united ANC that can unite the nation to meets the needs of the poor. They factionalist members will undergo disciplinary processes as outlined in our ANC Constitution.

We also have disgruntled members who are willing to work with the leadership to resolve differences. These are members who joined the ANC not for leadership positions but because they believed in its values, policies, its Constitution, proud history and traditions. These are the cadres and members of the ANC and who want it to succeed.

We have a duty to listen to these members so that they can help us improve the way the ANC is run and to solve the outstanding issues which cause concern. The NEC members will visit all parts of the country to meet with the membership and discuss the current situation and any other issues.

Some members may be angry at the recall of the former President of the Republic in the same way that others were furious with the dismissal of the former Deputy President of the Republic in 2005. Others are angry about certain decisions taken by local leadership. These are all some of the issues we must manage working together with our membership. It is all part of the culture of the ANC as its members speak out when things go wrong, but within the discipline of the organisation.

We value every single member of the ANC and do not want to lose them to people who want power at all costs. There are many people who have been sadly ill treated over the years but who remain within the ANC as loyal and disciplined members. We respect them for that.

Over the past week we have also listened with great amazement to assertions by former comrades that there is no internal democracy within the ANC. What is amusing is that this is said by people who have used their leadership positions over the years to stifle democracy and bulldoze others whose views they disagreed with, and who are now running away from democracy in the ANC. We have been working day and night to undo their legacy to remove factionalism and fear within the movement.

While healing the organisation, we are also gearing ourselves to fight the 2009 elections. That is why some unfortunate decisions have been taken, for example to remove some provincial Premiers either due to poor performance or being an obstacle to unity. Claims that the recalls are part of post-Polokwane "purges" are incorrect. We have stopped some provinces from removing Premiers where we were not convinced that strong grounds existed for a change of leadership. All Premiers are ANC deployees and we will support them in their work to deliver services to our people.

The 2009 elections are essential for taking forward the transformation outlined in the Freedom Charter, described by Madiba as a "a beacon to the Congress Movement and an inspiration to the people of South Africa".

In an article entitled "In Our Lifetime", published in Liberation - a "Journal of Democratic Discussion" in June 1956, Madiba warned that a mere appraisal of a document however dynamic its provisions or content might be is academic and valueless "unless we consciously and conscientiously create the conditions necessary for its realisation. To be fruitful such appraisal must be closely linked up with the vital question of whether we have in South African society the requisite social forces that are capable of fighting for the realisation of the Charter and whether in fact these forces are being mobilised and conditioned for this principal task''.

We are going to the ground to mobilise these forces to get people to register to vote and to participate in the transformation process. We will be celebrating with our people the successes of the last 15 years of the ANC government, while urging them to continue assisting the ANC to make this a better country. We will be doing so fully acknowledging and applauding the role of former Presidents Madiba and President Thabo Mbeki in ensuring the achievements of the ANC governments since 1994.

We will be talking to all sectors of society who are our key stakeholders in building a better life, such as traditional leaders, religious leaders, business, women and youth formations and non-governmental organisations. We will be asking for their views on how to strengthen our priority areas such as education, health, fight against crime, economic transformation, rural development and agrarian reform.

In all humility, we are convinced that the ANC is the only organisation that is democratic, truly cares for the people and that produces policies that can truly transform this country. It rigorously consults on processes hence internal debate and internal democracy will always be part of ANC culture and tradition.

As you read this, we are holding an Alliance Economic Summit in Johannesburg, putting our heads together with our allies to build an economy in which the creation of decent jobs, eradication of poverty and ending inequalities are central.

We must also reaffirm, as we have always done, our commitment to the Constitution of the Republic. The ANC fought and worked hard for the Constitution and all principles enshrined in it including the independence of the judiciary, the rule of law and equality for all. We are and pose no threats to the judiciary. It will never be under attack from the ANC. The sunshine democrats who accuse us of this know that they are being opportunistic.

People are leaving the ANC not because they dislike ANC policies but because their own personal ambitions were suppressed through non-election in Polokwane. We reiterate that nobody should be or will be marginalised simply because they voted for a particular person in Polokwane, or because they had raised uncomfortable issues.

The unity of the movement is paramount and comes before the personal ambitions of any member or leader.

Madiba reminded us of the importance of unity in his message to the ANC's Kabwe conference in 1985. "In the course of its history, the ANC has survived countless storms and risen to eminence partly because of the sterling qualities of its membership, and partly because each member has regarded himself or herself as the principal guardian of that unity. All discussions, contributions and criticism have generally been balanced and constructive and, above all, they have been invariably subjected to the over-riding principle of maximum unity. To lose sight of this basic principle is to sell our birthright, to betray those who paid the highest price so that the ANC should flourish and triumph''.

The thousands of our members who joined the ANC because of its values and principles will never lose sight of these principles. When there are problems they will not run away from the ANC. The test of time in our lives as cadres of the movement is how we endure difficulties, and how we are able to face the challenges and deal with them within the movement.

The legacy of those who run away will always be questionable. We will always wonder why they joined the ANC in the first place.

Happy Birthday, Mama Sisulu

Loyalty to the principles of freedom

It is July 1989, Mama Sisulu and Sister Bernard Ncube and I travel from the UK to Lusaka, Mama Sisulu is restless on the journey, she has not seen her son Max when he was a teenager, she knew that Gerald and his wife would also be there and she had a bag full of gifts she had asked Lindi Sisulu to buy in London. She entrusted me with the bag and I was not allowed to check it in, just to make sure nothing was lost.

We leave the plane and see the line up of ANC leaders, then she turns and says" Zwelakhe is here" but as her son comes dashing forward, it is Max and there is an emotional greeting which stays with me now, a mother touching her child for the first time in nearly 25 years. Her next emotional greeting is with Gertrude Shope and Ruth Mompati; they hug for a very long time. Her son Gerald and his wife have travelled to Lusaka as well and sons, daughters in law and grandchildren, surround her.

But too soon duty calls and we are taken to the Mulungishi hall here the entire contingent of all cadre in Lusaka are present to receive the report of the visit, Mama speaks in a clear and steady voice, she explains in detail what Bush said to her and what she said to him and how he was shocked to hear that every person in the delegation had been in an apartheid prison.

Her meeting with Margaret Thatcher, whom she described as someone she "grudgingly liked" as a person, but not her politics, she described her meetings with Jesse Jackson and the visit to Coretta King, Dinner with Jackie Onassis in a fluid and concise manner.

At the end of her careful speech she says, that it is time for us to strengthen our resolve and bring everyone home, " we are not far away from the finish line" she says. This is the woman whom I had met in her home in Orlando West in January 1980. Her resolve to destroy apartheid was part of her DNA, she trained many of us in the politics and traditions of the ANC and her determination to build a cadre of woman who would lead, was indefatigable.

While we are in Lusaka we meet with the ANC Women's Section and we discuss in detail how we would manage the next few months of heightened mass mobilisation of women, the plight of all political detainees and the she describes the mutilation and cruel punishment of children in detention. The rolling mass action campaign of the early 1990's and the role of women was etched then and there.

Mama is the woman many an activist of the 1980's would like to be. She defended the responsibility that women have to lead the country and to develop stable families. Her own was scattered across the globe and the love of her life Comrade Walter Sisulu was in prison for more years than they had spent together as a family. She organised for perpetual continuity, a system she called the petticoat system.

For every layer of leadership there must be one underneath to continue with the work. Discipline meant that you did not get detained and if you did it is because you had become reckless and forgotten the bigger goal. Her first choice was that no one gets detained, but once detained all support networks to assist the family were unlocked.

Mama Sisulu groomed her protégé's with the diligence of a drill sergeant; analysis of the Freedom Charter and the history of how it was collated was the starting point. Discussions on the reconstruction of the economy and her insistence that specialists be developed to "read " on various topics. The most diligent group to emerge from the 1980's women's collectives were The Women In Health Project and the Landless People's projects as well as the rights and obligations of domestic workers, the formation of the SADWU, the issues that Rita Ntzanga and Lydia Kompe brought to the fore on the women in the organised labour formations and the insights of Susan Shabangu and Kate Phillips in terms of the rights of workers. Mama created a network of people to be consulted on every matter. Jay Naidoo and Sydney Mufamadi on the formation of Cosatu and the politics of the labour movement.

She insisted that we run workshops to educate women on the labour movement. The notion of a single mass based women's movement was never out of her sights, she wanted to see Fedsaw revived and argued that women are best organised along issues that effect them directly and so her project of a single women's movement began in 1983. We were sent to all the provinces to talk to women and to link the various Provincial Women's structures affiliated to the UDF to talk about reviving Fedsaw.

At the centre of the debates were the questions of how to acknowledge and understand the patriarchal nature of our society and how tradition was passed off as organic culture. To Mama Sisulu, women were the backbone of the UDF then because the women activists were strong and being trained politically. Above all she encouraged debate, but did not brook ill discipline.

The day care centre projects of the 1980's were a unique mobilisation tool, and it served a practical purpose as well. Women workers could take children to places, which were safe during the day. The late Mali Fakier was much loved by Ma Sisulu, she developed the training programme for day care teachers that taught little ones to sing the anthem of the movement and freedom songs were converted into nursery songs, telling about the leaders of our country. She converted an old bus outside the surgery of the late Dr Asvat into a day care centre.

Mama Sisulu organised people wherever they were and together with June Mlangeni and Caroline Motsoaledi started a series of sewing projects in Soweto and a project to make handbags. Her real love was health care, a trained nurse, Mama Sisulu raised the plight of women who died in hospitals and backyards because of incomplete abortions, she wanted an education campaign on how to prevent pregnancy amongst teenagers and whilst the education authorities in the 1980's would never agree to an in school programme, women activists were encouraged to understand the issue and talk about the solution far and wide.

Ntsiki Albertina Sisulu is a loyal cadre of the African National Congress and it is that loyalty that at 90 we should engender and foster as we go forward, it was never loyalty to any ego, to any man or to any woman, it is and was loyalty to the principles of the ANC. Above all, when the movement's integrity is threatened she would call on everyone to defend it. Freedom is not child's play and brings many responsibilities. Leadership is not about who can shout the loudest, but about who can take a policy and make it work for the benefit of all.

Mama Sisulu, Happy Birthday!

Media Freedom Day

Giving a voice to the voiceless

National Media Freedom Day, celebrated on 19 October, is an important day in our national calendar. It encourages us to remember the many brave South Africans who risked constant harassment, imprisonment and more to report honestly and fearlessly on the reality of apartheid South Africa.

It also allows us to examine the principles for which they fought, and which we have enshrined in our constitution, including the principles of freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of the press.

It provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made in advancing those principles, and the challenges we face in defending the gains we have made. It also creates a space in which we can further debate how we understand these principles, and what they mean in practice for our media, our communities, and our national life.

It is true that South Africa is today another country, to mangle a phrase from Allister Sparks. If we had not been there, it would be difficult to imagine the repression and fear that once permeated our society; to imagine that newspapers could be closed down and journalists silenced for merely reporting on what they saw happening in the country.

It would be difficult to imagine a time when criticising government could earn a person a stint in jail. We can indeed be proud that we have moved away from this aspect of our past; that our media rights landscape has so fundamentally changed.

In preparation for the ANC's national conference in Polokwane last year, the structures of the ANC discussed several of these challenges. Guiding this discussion is the objective of a media environment in which all South Africans, regardless of race, gender or class, would have their views, interests and concerns adequately represented across all forms of media.

We strive towards a media environment in which all South Africans, in one way or another, are able to use media to express themselves free of undue constraint. The right of expression has little meaning if the means do not exist for the free expression of views. If control of the media - and access to the media - is concentrated in the hands of a few, then the capacity for the masses to receive and impart information is severely curtailed.

That is why the issue of media freedom cannot be pursued in isolation of media diversity. Media diversity is an integral and necessary component of a progressive understanding of media freedom.

Positing media freedom only in constitutional and legal terms is inadequate. We need to examine other more fundamental expressions of media freedom. One of these is the issue of ownership. There can be no full realisation of media freedom in a situation of growing conglomeration of ownership and homogenisation of content.

One consequence of such conglomeration is that newsrooms are being cut down; research capacity is being decimated; and lifting from the wires as distinct from real investigative work is becoming the norm. There can be no real media freedom without diversity in ownership of the media. Especially for the poor, media freedom should be understood to include their participation not merely as consumers, but also as producers of news and analysis. There can be no real media freedom if commercial imperatives start to impact directly and on a day-to-day basis on content. Where the bottom-line dictates content in this pervasive manner and editors are held on a leash, the consequence is that advertisers and marketers determine news and analysis, and stories are sometimes spiked at their behest. There can be no real media freedom under conditions of unique manifestations of censorship: self-censorship and what I would refer to as "peer censorship". Self-censorship in the sense that media sometimes tends to defer to powerful interest groups, to the extent of avoiding to examine complex issues in their contradictory manifestations. By "peer censorship" one refers to the tendency among journalists themselves to seek to dictate to others how they should cover issues. As we said in our discussions before Polokwane:

".we should not assume that the goal of media freedom has been achieved simply because the South African media is not subject to any censorship or state interference.

"The freedom of the South African media is today undermined not by the state, but by various tendencies that arise from the commercial imperatives that drive the media.

"The concentration of ownership, particularly in the print sector, has a particularly restrictive effect on the freedom of the media. The process of consolidation and the drive to cut costs through, among other things, rationalisation of newsgathering operations, leads to homogenisation of content.

"This is not a particularly South African phenomenon. Around the world, consolidation of media groups - and the drive to maximise profit - has led to a global homogenisation of news. In addition, it doesn't make much commercial sense for a newspaper to have international correspondents stationed around the world when it is far cheaper to use international wire services. There have even been instances when South African newspapers have published stories about South Africa taken from international news agencies."

While we have a significant public broadcaster, with a large reach, and a growing community media sector, the reality is that much of our media is operated on a commercial basis. Even in broadcasting, where once the SABC had a virtual monopoly, the commercial broadcasting sector is growing significantly, thanks to a new regulatory framework, the advance of technology, and the growth of the South African middle class.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. There was certainly a need for greater diversity in the broadcast sector, particularly as new technologies have helped reduce barriers to entry. But it does mean that the commercial imperative is the central driving force behind the growth and development of South African media.

The business of business is business. And the business of the media business is business. A newspaper that doesn't make money is shut down, or its editor fired.

There are indeed instances where the supposedly-sacred separation between management and the newsroom is breached; where commercial considerations influence editorial content. For the most part, these considerations need to take account of a media market in which there is fierce competition for a slice of the upper income market, where the most advertising revenue is to be found.

There are obviously products that aim for the lower end of the income market, where there is a small but growing interest among advertisers.

We said in our Polokwane discussions that:

"Given that this end of the market - [the upper income end] - represents very particular class interests (and is predominantly white) it stands to reason that media institutions will tend to reflect the preoccupations, values and world view of this small group of society.

"Even where management may adopt a hands-off approach to editorial matters, they would certainly step in to prevent their title from adopting an editorial stance that may antagonise their target market or alienate advertisers. Dedicated professionals that they may be, most editors still need to keep an eye on the bottom line.

"The drive to cut costs also diminishes the research capacity, infrastructure and time available to journalists, leading to a herd mentality within large sections of the media. Complex social dynamics and events that lend themselves to a multitude of interpretations are reduced to homogenous sound bites."

This does not negate the fact that there are many daily examples of fine journalism in South Africa. There are many editors and journalists - and indeed owners and managers - who are dedicated to their task, and determined that their readers, listeners or viewers should experience reporting that is scrupulously accurate, balanced and relevant.

They are prepared to take on vested interests, speak truth to power, and exercise to the fullest their right to freedom of expression. But their efforts take place in an environment in which the profit motive skews the media environment in a particular direction. In short, it is the voice of the wealthy that is heard loudest; the voice of the poor hardly at all.

Given this reality, the public broadcaster has a particularly significant role to play, giving a voice to those who are not heard through other media, and serving as a platform for empowerment and development.

We have noted that the SABC has effectively transformed from an apartheid government mouthpiece to a public broadcaster managing, to a greater or less extent, to educate, inform, entertain and contribute to the development of the South African people.

Yet this transition has raised a number of challenges. One relates to the issue of funding. While it is not a commercial venture, some of its stations have an explicit function to generate revenue through advertising. The public funding available to the SABC, including from licence fees, is not sufficient on its own to enable it to operate such a diverse and extensive range of broadcasting services. But the need to generate advertising revenue constrains its ability to perform its public service role.

This is why the ANC took a resolution at Polokwane to substantially and urgently increase state funding to the public broadcaster. It set an ambitious target, that state funding should constitute at least 60% of the SABC's income by 2010. Another challenge we identified in our discussions was to ensure that in its editorial approach the SABC avoids both the perception and the reality that it is an uncritical mouthpiece for the government of the day.

It remains vitally important that the SABC can be relied upon as a credible source of accurate and balanced news, information and analysis, representing in its coverage the diversity of South African society. While non-partisan in its approach, the SABC nevertheless has a responsibility to uphold and promote the values enshrined in the Constitution. The public broadcaster should be explicit in its commitment to nation building, reconciliation, forging an inclusive national identity, and the reconstruction and development of society."

We therefore share the concerns that others have expressed about the current instability and conflict at the SABC.

However, it is significant that community radio listenership has increased significantly in the last five years, while commercial radio listenership has declined. This is particular impressive given that the community radio sector is barely a decade old.

Since community radio is more likely than its mainstream counterparts to give voice to a broader, more diverse and currently under-represented range of South Africans, then it is vital that this sector continues to grow.

Among the issues that will need to be considered at a policy level is whether provision needs to be made for the licensing of more community radio stations so that those sections of society that remain under-represented in the media, the poor and working class in particular, have access to the means to exercise their right to free expression.

Community radio faces a number of significant challenges, including a lack of resources, unreliable revenue streams, and lack of media skills and technical expertise. Those community stations that have managed to have an impact have done so largely because of the tenacity and determination of their staff, the support of the community and the material assistance provided by donors, government and agencies.

The utility of media freedom should be its contribution in shaping the evolution of nations, in defining the trajectory of their development. When we talk about the media, we are not referring to a hapless institution, always victim, and waiting to be abused by others. Media wields enormous social power.

The national interest consists mainly in ensuring the preservation and success of a nation-state; in promoting its founding consensus as reflected in our country's Constitution; in recognising and promoting basic principles which make us as a nation.

It is in this context that even the issue of public interest should be treated. Of course public interest entails such issues as the public's right to know, speaking truth to power, exposing malfeasance. In a truly democratic society, this should not be in contradiction to the national interest.

Even public interest should be informed by the question: how does its exercise raise democracy to new heights; how does it contribute to the quest to improve people's quality of life! Failure to do this can result in lost bearings. Sensation is then pursued for its own sake and the balance among education, information and entertainment is missed.

Experience has shown that attempts on the part of established newspapers to compete with tabloids in the tabloids' own terrain is a recipe for disaster. There is no way they can outdo the tabloids without losing their own identity altogether.

The challenges facing South African media today, the media freedom, like any other freedom, can be enjoyed for its own sake. But media faces the danger of consigning itself to social irrelevance if it ignores the national mission as contained in our Constitution. Thus its value will be defined more as a popular source of amusement - the opium that dulls the senses -and an institution that connives in the destruction of the very values that make its existence in freedom possible.

The media cannot demand respect if it fails to assume its responsibility as a public utility in the popular search for a better life. It should critique public policies and their implementation, but do so in a manner that adds value to the national endeavour.

Media must dig a little deeper, search more intensely and it will find that in the serious pursuits of the nation there is education, information, entertainment and even amusement galore: interesting things that sell newspapers and draw audiences, but things that add value to a society endeavouring to better itself.

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