DA: Parliament must call SABC to account over ‘rampant censorship’ after SAfm show axed

07 June 2016 - 13:16 By TMG Digital

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has characterised the “canning” of SAfm’s “The Editors” show as the “the latest in a string of incidents of censorship of views critical of the African National Congress (ANC) government”. The party’s Phumzile van Damme said on Tuesday that “censorship at the SABC ahead of the local government election has reached crisis proportions” after its spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago on Monday night confirmed the axing of the show.Kganyago said he didn’t understand the furore over the issue‚ and said it was part of a “revamping” and “The Editors” was an “old” show dating back to the 1980s.Van Damme countered that it “is a very popular programme on SAfm on Sunday mornings where the political events of the week are critically analysed‚ debated and discussed by newspaper journalists and editors”.“The programme has been a bone of contention for the ANC for many years as its poor record as a governing party is often discussed‚” she said. “Through the years the ANC has attempted to have the show canned‚ and failed.”Van Damme said the “DA will be calling on the Portfolio Committee on Communications to return to Parliament in order to be fully briefed by the SABC’s management on the rampant censorship”.She cited other examples of censorship under chief executive officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng as being the “attempted banning of call-ins‚ the canning of Vuyo Mvoko’s talk show‚ banning of footage of violent protests and the censorship of DA adverts”. ..

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