‘No national unity and parties excluded’: MK party on why SABC should not use the term GNU

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).

The party locked horns with the SABC’s lawyers in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday.

The MK party believes the term GNU is not correct and should not be used by the public broadcaster.

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EFF and MK party ‘excluded’ from 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.

Mpofu described the current government as a “marriage” between the ANC and the DA.

He said the DA had described the EFF and the MK party as “doomsday” parties.

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.

‘No national unity in GNU‘

Mpofu said national unity was a serious matter and should be treated as such by the SABC.

“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.

Mpofu said a government of national unity means that the government must represent the entire nation.

SABC’s independence questioned

He emphasised that the SABC, as a state broadcaster, has a role to provide accurate information to the public.

“The SABC has a duty to give the citizens of this country accurate information.”

Mpofu said the SABC has a duty to support democracy and observe its independence at all times.

“Independence means independence from government and big commercial players.”

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.

SABC lawyer responds to allegations

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 Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA).

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.

“All the SABC does is that it calls the government what it calls itself,” he said.

Motau described the MK party’s complaint as being “political”.

Who came up with the term GNU?

ANC started using the term GNU to describe the structure of governance it was putting together. This is after the party dipped below 50% at the general elections last year.

According to the ANC, all parties were invited to form part of the new government. However, some parties were uncomfortable with the inclusion of the DA in the governing arrangement.

The formation of the GNU with the DA has also sparked tension inside the ANC and within the tripartite alliance. Some of these members believe that a coalition with the DA is a setback for the national democratic revolution.

Court was adjourned and judgment was reserved at the end of Monday.

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