The Sowetan (Johannesburg)
Chris More
2 July 2001
President Thabo Mbeki and his Government have come to a historic agreement with South Africa's leading editors to make peace and build trust for the sake of national interest.
The pact - made at a closed workshop at Sun City Resorts at the weekend - includes a plan to establish a Government media briefing centre where all departments could disseminate information, present ministers to make announcements and answer journalists' questions.
This way, distortions of fact resulting from "exclusive stories" would be minimised.
The parties agreed to setting up, with immediate effect, a pilot project that would see journalists seconded to Government departments and media liaison officers spending time in newsrooms to have a greater understanding of issues on both sides. Further training would be facilitated by both the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) and the Government.
The aim of the the Cabinet-Sanef indaba was to end the acrimonious relationship and deep-seated mistrust between the Government and journalists, which had deteriorated to the extent of "threatening national interest".
Mbeki described the occasion as having achieved its primary objective of bringing two very important institutions together to commit themselves to a common purpose, albeit approached from different angles and perspectives.
He said the approach might be something other countries would want to learn from. Media attacks on the person and position of the President had also reached levels of serious concern and both parties agreed this was unhealthy.
In closing the workshop, Mbeki conceded that the atmosphere of strained relations with the media had led to the Government making the mistake of not communicating correctly.
He said: "As the Government, we have not done what we ought to have done, that is to communicate clearly. The message came across that this has been a very serious failure and I think we need to correct that."
Sanef chairman Mathata Tsedu said discussions were "direct and robust but underpinned by openness and honesty".
In his submission, Tsedu said many factors had contributed to an inadequate media in the country.
"We concede that there is too much shallowness, superficiality and lack of professionalism in the South African media, deficiencies which are a discredit to our profession - but deficiencies that our programmes of action are focused on remedying.
"In a sense, the South African media are grappling with the same issues of transformation as the rest of society, including the Government," Tsedu said.
It was agreed that an indaba would take place at least twice a year to ensure that such critical issues did not remain unattended for too long.
Next on the agenda for the Government and Sanef will be a debate on the specific meaning and understanding of what issues might be described as being in the national interest.
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