CWU: ANCYL uses Nazi tactics

2010-03-19 14:11

Johannesburg – The Communication Workers' Union, which represents journalists and media technical staff, likened ANC Youth League spokesperson Floyd Shivambu's threats against the media to Nazi Germany's propagandist Josef Goebbels, on Friday.

"We are firmly of the view that the conduct of comrade Floyd is a ghost resurrection of Hitler’s Nazi Germany propagandist Josef Goebbels," said Matankana Mothapo, spokesperson for the union which is affiliated to the ANC through a tripartite alliance agreement.

"Given this, the CWU, calls on the ANC to take drastic action against Cde Shivambu."

Earlier this week a group of senior reporters lodged a complaint against Shivambu, the league's spokesperson, saying he was intimidating and threatening them after they refused to publish allegations of money laundering against City Press reporter Dumisane Lubisi.

Lubisi is one of the reporters who produced a series of articles which questioned league president Julius Malema's directorships in companies which received vast tenders for construction work in Limpopo.

The basis of the report was provided to him by former Limpopo premier Sello Moloto following questions tabled in the legislature over poor construction work by disgruntled residents, and which are available to the public.

Malema directorships

Malema, who hails from Limpopo, denied that he held directorships in the company's involved in contradiction of company records.

The league retorted that they would expose information they had that journalists received money for stories, and that they had sex with politicians to get information.

"We wish to condemn with contempt the spurious actions of the ANCYL spokesperson [Floyd Shivambu]," the CWU statement read.

Accusing the league of bullying, intimidation and African chauvinism, the CWU challenged them to prove they had opened a case against Lubisi, as they had threatened, on the grounds that the police were the relevant authorities for whistleblowers to approach.

Like other commentators, they also demanded to know how the league came into possession of the private information they claimed to have. Failure by the ANC collective to deal with Shivambu would be betraying the sacrifices made by Ruth First and other progressive journalists, CWU said.

The union would also seek a meeting with the journalists who lodged the complaint to develop a programme of "solidarity and defence".

- SAPA