The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party has taken aim at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), alleging the broadcaster is misleading the public by using the term “government of national unity” (GNU). Advocate Dali Mpofu, representing the MK party, argues that the term is inaccurate because parties like the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the MK party are excluded from government. He contends that the SABC's use of the term misrepresents the current political landscape and undermines the concept of national unity.
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party has accused the South African Broadcasting Corporation ( SABC ) of misleading the country by using the term “ government of national unity ” ( GNU ). Representing the MK party, Advocate Dali Mpofu argued that the use of the term GNU is incorrect because parties such as the Economic Freedom Fighters ( EFF ) and the MK party have been excluded from government.
He quoted remarks made by DA federal council chairperson, Helen Zille, describing the GNU as a coalition between the ANC and the DA. “It’s common cause that it was a precondition set by the DA that the purported government must exclude the MK party and the EFF. These parties represent 25% of the South African electorate,” Mpofu said.“National unity in this country is something very serious and it’s something that must not be made a political play-thing,” he said. According to Mpofu, the DA and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) are opposed to issues of redress and anti-colonialism. He said their inclusion in what has been described as the GNU is a contradiction. He emphasized that the SABC, as a state broadcaster, has a role to provide accurate information to the public. Mpofu said the SABC has a duty to support democracy and observe its independence at all times. Mpofu suggested the SABC is dancing to the tune of the ANC and the government. He said the public broadcaster had made the same mistake in the past, using information from the apartheid government without analysing it. The SABC’s lawyer, Terry Motau, told the court that the broadcaster had not broken any editorial rules by referring to the current government as a GNU. Motau said the MK party had failed to use existing structures in the SABC to voice its complaint. He said it could also have reached out to the SABC’s editorial board. He said the SABC had merely referred to the government in the manner that it refers to itself. According to Motau, the SABC had communicated that there are differing views concerning the GNU. Motau described the MK party’s complaint as being “political”. The ANC started using the term GNU to describe the structure of governance it was putting together after the party dipped below 50% at the general elections last year
SABC MK Party Government Of National Unity GNU Advocate Dali Mpofu National Unity ANC DA EFF
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