SABC fights allegations of bias

2006-06-25 14:00

Johannesburg - The SABC has launched a push to repair its credibility amid allegations of political meddling that critics say are reminiscent of the dark days of apartheid.

The public broadcasting company took out full-page advertisements in Sunday newspapers denying political pressure was behind a decision to drop a documentary on President Thabo Mbeki.

The SABC also announced it was appointing an independent panel to probe charges that the network's news bosses banned certain commentators - including Mbeki's own brother -because of their views.

"If it is true that there were those guidelines and that they were misapplied as it has been alleged, this should come out of that probe," SABC chief executive officer Dali Mpofu said in a radio interview on Sunday.

The storm over the SABC reflects perceptions that the broadcaster has increasingly aligned itself with Mbeki's ruling African National Congress (ANC) and suppressed other viewpoints.

Commentators charge the SABC's leadership has stripped it of independence in much the same way that South Africa's former white government once did to promote apartheid.

"The problem is that the leadership of the broadcaster believes the SABC to be an extension of the government's information arm," a Sunday Times editorial said on Sunday.

"This is compounded by a board which believes the 'public' it represents are the mandarins in Tshwane (Pretoria)."

South Africa's media is generally among the the most unrestrained on the continent and its freedom from political harassment is enshrined in the democratic constitution established after the end of white rule in 1994.

The latest criticism was sparked by an SABC decision to cancel the broadcast of a documentary on Mbeki it said was "editorially unbalanced" and contained potentially defamatory allegations.

Mpofu on Sunday named former SABC boss Zwelakhe Sisulu to head the probe into allegations that commentators were banned.

The SABC staunchly defended its editorial integrity in its advertisements. "Nonsensical value-based and ideologically loaded right-wing vitriol should not be mistaken for legitimate public commentary," the statement said.

- Reuters