Will there be freedom of the press under EFF’s leadership?

Last week we received a host of threatening calls from the EFF after we had published a story featuring its national spokesperson who addressed at TUT last week and referred to them as fat because they lacked recreational facilities.

That was a realistic remark to make because it is true that our areas lack recreational facilities, let alone TUT.

I saw no reason for them to feel so infuriated by that story because it pin-pointed to a very important component of service delivery.

I urge the EFF to think before they issue threats to us and our newspaper that should they take over Mbombela and the provincial government, they will ban our newspaper and we would never be given any advertisements, said the secretary general, Godrich Gardee to me personally.

I wonder what was he insinuating by that statement because truly, advertisements are the lifeline of every media house.

I wonder if the same threats are issued to all media houses who publish or broadcast anything unfavourable about their leadership.

To make it worse, he even said from now, henceforth, they will ban us from their news conferences.

That’s a bold statement to make because people will continue to need information about the movement, and no one can choose through what medium they should obtain it.

If everyone who crosses paths with you then you ban or blacklist them.

At the end of the day, you will find yourself alone and you’ll be watching the rest of the people across the fence.

A word of advice though: as a publication we have extended an invitation to the EFF in the province on numerous occasions, but there have been very few such invitations and cannot blame us for not being frequent in our publication.

I pity your decision to ban us from your media conferences, thus not being privy to any programmes on behalf of your followers.

Will there be a freedom of the press under their leadership, I wonder?