Turning a blind eye on culture of unrest

It seems for the last couple of months the country has been engulfed in flames as we draw nearer to the municipal elections and the gulf of frustration grows deeper.

On Tuesday afternoon (June 21), I briefly viewed some of the media footage that was seeping through of all the buses being torched, and how anarchy and the chaos ruled in the streets of a once proud Pretoria (a place where I lived for many years).

And then as I fed on the morsels of video footage and photos, I made a mental note to look at the coverage on the news that evening.

But then I remembered there will be no such footage on our national broadcaster (SABC).

This is after recently in a rather bizarre announcement the national broadcaster made it known that it will no longer show footage of the burning of public institutions in any of its bulletins.

I was rather perplexed why the South African Broadcasting Corporation took such a drastic decision not to publicise any content displaying violent service delivery protests in various parts of the country.

And the reason for the decision? At the time it was stated that the SABC will not provide publicity to such actions that are destructive and regressive on the developments made after 22 years of South Africa’s democracy.

It was also quite hilarious that the public broadcaster, however, reiterated that it will continue to cover news without fear or favour. Really?

It now seems rather convenient that this stance of ‘no protest coverage’ was taken before Pretoria was being burnt to the ground.

The capital has been dumped in violence since Sunday (June 19) as news filtered in indicating that former cabinet minister, Thoko Didiza, would be named as the city’s mayoral candidate for the African National Congress (ANC), replacing the incumbent Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa.

Residents said they were not happy with Didiza and wanted Ramokgopa to remain in his position.

So as Pretoria burns and businesses lose money and anarchy is allowed to reign freely, you have to bemoan the actions of the SABC.

Here is a newsflash: you can look the other way, but everything that has been happening the last couple of months in terms of violent protests is destructive and regressive to our democracy.

Since the decision was taken, the SABC has come under incredible fire, which is understandable. After all, what about the right to know?

I also have to ask the question, what is truly behind this agenda? Anybody else got the feeling this is censorship in just another jacket?

Maybe the decision was taken to cover up the reality this country is on the brink of total collapse.

After all, what is happening throughout the country regarding fiery protests over service delivery, the lack of proper education and now the unrest in Pretoria lies solely at the feet of government, no one else.

The problem is, government is not really dealing with the roots of the unrest, merely saying on Tuesday there is no need to panic and the army is a last resort to restore calm.

No need to panic? Tell that to all the residents of Pretoria West who are fearing for their lives.

All the citizens of this country are of course being told not to panic regarding the general state of our country, including Ekurhuleni, but the reality is that no one is so dumb as to ignore the signs of a faltering democracy.

So is the intention for news censorship a real attempt to dissuade such violence, or is simply another attempt to blind the masses to the reality that exists on the streets?

In the end, it does not matter if one tries to look the other way or try to cover up the mess or try to play the ignorant game, the lawlessness, disorder and unrest remains and will continue.

The conflict and strife will only cease and be resolved when the needs of the masses are properly met, and let us be fair, such demands are not unrealistic: jobs, education, and better service delivery.

Let us just be thankful here in Ekurhuleni everything seems calm following the announcement of the ANC and DA mayoral candidates.

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And as a last word, refusing to broadcast violent protests will not aid the cause for a more civilised nation, but will only add to the fuel of ignorance which is, in this case, not bliss.