By: Jacob Mohlamme
We should not be mistaken as though we are holding a candle for Paul Mashatile in the matter affecting and involving his recent declaration of assets as required by parliament. Mashatile, has by his own volition and enjoined by parliament did the honourable thing to open up about his Constantia house.
What followed was a media campaign aimed at peeling every layer of his declaration to find fault and cast aspersions and intimate doubt. The conclusion was a guilty verdict based on innuendo, slander, supposition and preconceived biases.
What is disconcerting though, is the selective stance adopted by the media in its general reportage. It is logical to ask as to where are the other declarations of other parliamentarians? We are not informed of the DA leader’s declarations nor are we enlightened about those of the Freedom Front et al.
If someone were to land in South Africa from outer space they will not be mistaken to think and conclude that it is only Paul Mashatile who is requested by law to disclose his assets. This is because the media has zoomed into his declaration exclusively and we are not informed of the declarations of others. Those with offshore accounts and estates in plush European cities and elsewhere are deliberately overlooked if not shielded.
Those who still hold colonial loot and bloody inheritance earned from the proceeds of oppression are hidden from view. Those who have lived for decades on the sweat of the oppressed are omitted and cushioned from public gaze.
We should not be mistaken to assume that the conduct of the media is not just an idle omission on its part. These are concerted efforts to sully and denigrate the character of some leaders. The media is not just driving a wedge between leaders and their constituency, but they have become an interested player in the internal affairs of the ANC. They conduct their campaign by public lynching those that their handlers despise.
Stopping short of assuming the role of active conference delegates, the media has allowed itself to be used as batting rum in the ANC internal contest. The so-called scrutiny is selective and jaundice. By declaring his assets, Mashatile is not just complying with the legal obligations on members of parliament but he also avails himself to public scrutiny.
Some prominent members conceal their assets in blind trusts. Some are yet to explain how they have become billionaires and multimillionaires not having owned any thriving business. The bribery by free share allocation in return for political favours is a sophisticated scam that the media dares to question. Instead the beneficiaries of these business largesses are portrayed as success stories and held up as Black business icons.
Lack of critical and in-depth journalism has allowed newsroom mediocrity to reign supreme. This and others are the very reasons that account for the general decline in the South African media readership. The media has ceased to be informative but now parade in a dirty gaberdine with the inscription; Rumour Monger.
The appointment of hand picked politicians to seat in boards of private entities that are shielded from transforming is another sophisticated scam that the media dares to scrutinise. Years of accumulated colonial loot never make headlines. Our media is at best obsessed with chasing shadows whiles real issues remain unattended. They have slipped into the tabloid mould that has earned them little respect.
Evidently, the media has paid an inordinate amount of time in campaigning against Paul Mashatile. We now know , based on recent revelations, that some South African journalist are up for sale. Maybe Mashatile is refusing to release the purse.
The South African media embarks on an elaborate puzzle and the even goes to an extant of inventing fanciful doubts about his suitability to lead the country. The problem with South African media is that they have abrogated unto themselves the title of demigod. This is ostensibly the case because they have constantly escape judicious examination.
If Mashatile desires to lead the country come the ANC elective conference, he will succeed or fail not because the media wills it as such but because the delegates so prescribe.
* Mohlamme is an independent researcher
