Lesufi, get off your high horse

Now that he has risen to the stratospheric height of premier of Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi seems to believe publications that write about him in a manner he does not agree with, are “Stratcom agents” who are hell-bent on casting aspersions on his leadership.

This man thinks the media must bow to him like his subordinates in the ANC.

There have been three occasions where the premier refused to speak to me because I work “for a publication of boers”.

In a bid to embarrass me, Lesufi seems to tell my media colleagues he will speak to them and not me. What kind of thinking is this from a so-called provincial leader?

On Monday, after the Workers’ Day event which was held by Cosatu at Saulsville Arena in Tshwane, Lesufi refused to speak to The Citizen about the plight of Gauteng workers. He said: “I won’t speak to you because you are a publication of boers. Even if I were to comment, you will write whatever you want. You can write that I waived my right of reply.”

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The supposed feud between us seems to have been started by the fact that a colleague wrote a story about the controversial issues that were surrounding him before he was elected Gauteng premier. The story included the R430 million spent on unnecessary school sanitisation during the Covid pandemic, while pupils were not even attending classes.

Despite explaining myself to him on several occasions, that the story was not written by me and that if he had a problem with the story, maybe he should raise his concerns with the person who wrote it or the editor, Lesufi has continued his campaign to undermine me.

Lesufi should make a public announcement – like the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) did with eNCA and Daily Maverick who have barred them from attending any of their events. Lesufi should be clear that he does not want The Citizen to attend his media briefings.

Even if he barred the publication from attending these events, it is the ANC that should make the decision – not him as he is not bigger than the organisation he serves.

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As a premier, he owes me and The Citizen no favour as he accounts to the public, not us. As a society, we should worry when our so-called leaders of society still believe anything written about them that they do not agree with, is an attack.

This opinion piece should not, in any way, be taken as an attack on Lesufi, his capabilities as the leader of the ANC in Gauteng, or the premier, but a voice of concern about the unfair treatment I’ve received from him. His attack on me was not done in secret but publicly, hence the need to voice my concerns publicly.

We should question leaders and organisations like the EFF, for their brazen attacks on the media and their way of conducting themselves when people share views different to them. We are in an era where journalists desist from writing about certain leaders as they fear they will be attacked or ridiculed on public platforms like Twitter.

It cannot be that people in public offices like the premier’s refuse to speak to some publications because they wrote about them in ways they do not agree with.

You are in public office to represent the masses, not your feelings – and as the accounting officer, your feelings should not matter. There are avenues like the press ombud, where, if you feel you have been misrepresented, you can go to raise those concerns.