Snuki slams 'racist criticism'

2004-04-19 23:35

Jo Prins and Rayaan Adriaanse

Johannesburg - Snuki Zikalala, the new head of SABC News, said on Monday that criticism lodged about him was racially driven and his critics had no leg to stand on.

This comes after the public broadcaster came under harsh criticism for having appointed Zikalala to the post.

Zikalala, who until recently worked as spokesperson for the department of labour, has been accused in the past of creating an "intimidating and authoritarian" newsroom at the SABC by both the Democratic Alliance and the Institute for Freedom of Expression (FXI).

Political commentator Max du Preez has described Zikalala's appointment as "unholy". He sees it as a political appointment.

"When Snuki left the SABC he said he would return. The man has lots of high-powered friends in politics," he said.

Du Preez felt it was interesting that the SABC had "waited nicely until after the election" before announcing his appointment.

The FXI's Raymond Louw said it was incomprehensible that Zikalala left the SABC as a discredited journalist only to be reappointed in a higher post.

He says he won't be 'His Master's Voice'

Zikalala left the public broadcaster at the end of 2001 amid controversy. He had been news manager at the time.

He had been criticised at the time for, among other things, his attempts at integrating TV and radio news.

Zikalala said there was no truth in claims that, as a journalist, he would be "his master's voice".

"As a journalist, I am skilled and objective in my reporting," he said.

According to him, there was not a single journalist in the country who wasn't a member of a political party and that this should not pose a problem in his appointment.

"There is a political editor at the SABC who decides what will be broadcast - I will not interfere in that."

If it had been a white journalist, people would not have been so critical, he said.

"Just because I am black and a member of the ANC, I cannot be objective and independent - it's simply not true."

Claims that people such as Charles Leonard, editor of TV news (English) and Jimmi Mathews, head of TV news, were going to walk out because of his appointment took Zikalala by surprise.

"No one told me they are going to leave," he said, adding that he had no intention of getting rid of staff but instead he wanted to work with them as a team.

- Beeld