Will the SABC hit back at the ANC after Mbalula’s ramblings?

Watching Fikile Mbalula deliver his post mortem of the ANC’s election performance last week, I was shocked by the abrasively egotistical ramblings.

The last time I saw somebody this brazenly going balls to the wall, I was watching clips of people on that flakka drug, trying to kick-stop moving cars. 

Claiming that the election wasn’t lost, but the loss is due to coalitions being formed by smaller parties…

I got news for comrade Mr Fix. That’s still a loss. 

How do we know this? Well, because they were in government in several metros and municipalities and now, after the election, they govern in fewer. That seems like a loss to me.

The ability to form coalitions is an expression of the election outcome, so Mbalula shouldn’t be fooling anybody.
But following his line of reasoning is the crazy teacup carnival ride of political spin. 

Step 1: ANC lost due to low turnout. 

Step 2: Tweet that we accept our fait (sic) and can’t blame anybody. 

Step 3: Tweet that it is not the time to blame others. 

Step 4: Suggest that the SABC was a cause for low voter turnout. 

Once you’ve realised that the headache you’ve just experienced doesn’t justify the lack of any rationalisation nor reconciliation of those steps, you might understand why the SABC was angry enough to write a letter.

Ooh! A letter! 

It must be serious if they wrote a response. Indeed, I think it was effective because, for whatever reason (cough, divert attention, cough), Mbaks decided to go after beloved broadcaster, Robert Marawa. 

Of course, it was glorious to see Marawa (and the rest of Twitter) kick Fikile for touch, but spare a thought to what must have been going on in the minister’s mind.

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Not a few hours earlier, the dude was raging on the SABC’s Service Delivery Gauge, blaming it for the lack of voters and then he takes to social media to boast(?) how the SABC “dealt” with Marawa. 

It’s just… wow!

Clearly the dude is on the back foot and doing all he can, but to allow him to do it so flippantly is upsetting and I think it’s time the SABC took a stand.

If I was a media company being blamed, unjustly, for affecting the outcome of an election, I would be on top of that situation immediately, except the letter I’d write wouldn’t just be one to say we’re not pleased. The letter I would write would be to say, we’re not pleased, oh, and by the way, we demand compensation for your inaccurate claims and if you don’t pay up and offer an apology, you can explain why to a judge.

And since his comments were made as the head of elections for the ANC, the entire party is at risk.

The SABC was just handed a gift from Minister Razzmatazz. Not only is this an opportunity to make some cash but it would also be an opportunity to show the nation that the broadcaster does not take [lovely Afrikaans word] from the ruling party. Yes, I know, they wrote a letter but people write letters all the time. 

You write a letter when your roommate leaves dirty dishes in the sink. You sue somebody when they blame you for their sinking because you never washed their dirty dishes.

I know it probably won’t happen. There are still important relationships to uphold and I get that, but man, what I wouldn’t give to see a party official being held to account for their political spin.

It’s been such an easy ride for the comrades who have been able to get away with saying nearly anything, regardless of the backing. 

Maybe it’s time for the SABC to take this opportunity to deal with Mbalula and his comments in the same way he believes they “dealt” with Marawa.

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