Media must apologise and hold its own TRC‚ says Mthembu

ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu says the South African media should hold its own Truth and Reconciliatory Commission (TRC) and apologise to South Africans for the role it played during Apartheid.

Mthembu also called for a Parliamentary inquiry to establish whether a media tribunal should be established.

He was speaking on a panel with the DA’s Phumzile van Damme and the EFF's Mbuyiseni Ndlozi at the Daily Maverick Gathering event.

Mthembu said the majority of South African media houses had refused to make submissions to the TRC and this refusal led to the “suspicion” and “mistrust” that existed between the media and those who fought for freedom.

“The media was complicit in the evils that took place in this country and like PW Botha‚ did not appear before the TRC. They showed the people of South Africa the middle finger and said go to hell‚” he said.

He also questioned whether the media had the “moral and political authority” to continue to regulate itself.

He said it was not the ANC's desire to “sweep corruption under the carpet”‚ or force “sunshine journalism” but an independent regulator was purely to “hold the media accountable”.

He said a Parliamentary enquiry should be established to determine what form such regulation would take.

Van Damme said the DA would fight any attempt to pass legislation to establish a tribunal “tooth and nail” but said she believed that the idea‚ which has been on the ANC agenda for a number of years‚ was likely a “big stick” being used to threaten the media.

Ndlozi said while the supported self regulation of the media‚ they believed this needed to be improved and given “teeth”.

“The media would not be haunted by fake news if its self regulation mechanisms were up to scratch‚” he said.

Earlier in the day‚ director of the Press Council‚ Joe Thloloe‚ told the conference that he believed a tribunal would be deemed unconstitutional.

“The threat of an appeals tribunal does not worry me‚ the Constitutional Court will rule against it but by the time we get there‚ the taxpayer's money will have been wasted and publishers will have been pulled into court for years before we get there‚” he said.