Ruling by the Deputy Press Ombud
31 August 2016
This ruling is based on the written submissions of Mr James Kemp and those of Business Day deputy editor Sharon Chetty.
Kemp, in his capacity as the marketing and communications manager of the Orania Movement, complains about a story headlined Orania likely to fall under EFF council by Genevieve Quintal, published on bdlive.co.za on June 3, 2016.
Complaint
The complaint centres around a paragraph which says: “The Orania community, which for years has been trying to establish its own state separate from South Africa, boycotted the 2011 local government elections and the 2014 general election. The EFF garnered four national votes in the right-wing town and the Freedom Front Plus was the leading party.”
Kemp complains that the website has:
• inaccurately stated that Orania boycotted elections;
• ignored the difference between a municipality and a district municipality which meant that the Orania would still manage itself; and
• falsely typified the enclave as being “right wing”.
Text
The story notes that the “Afrikaner enclave of Orania in the Northern Cape could find itself under an EFF local government after the August 3 municipal elections.
Orania officially falls in ward 2 in the Thembelihle local municipality, where current mayor Danny Jonas will be standing as the EFF’s mayoral candidate.”
The story does note that the Thembelihle local municipality is made up of Hopetown, Orania and Strydenburg, with a combined population of 23,000.
It is includes the paragraph: “The Orania community, which has for years been trying to establish its own state separate from SA, boycotted the 2011 local government elections. The EFF garnered four national votes in the right-wing town, and the Freedom Front Plus was the leading party.” and continues to note that Orania had its own internal arrangements and there was a memorandum of understanding between the Thembelihle council and the enclave. This arrangement included co-operation in agricultural development, tourism and economic development.
The arguments
Kemp says:
1. Orania has never boycotted any election in South Africa. Many of its citizens voted in the 2014 national election. One day before the municipal election in December 2000 they reached an agreement with the provincial and national governments at the Northern Cape High Court assuring them the right to continue their own unique municipal status. During every municipal election since 2000 the IEC had a voting station in Orania, but very few citizens of Orania opted to vote there. Every five years on the same day as municipal elections they elect their Orania Representative Council in line with the agreement made in December 2000. No one in Orania is forced to vote in any election or is prevented from doing so. The IEC will substantiate that.
2. Orania is part of the Pixley Ka Seme District Municipality. There is a major difference between a municipality and a district municipality. Citizens from Orania vote for the district municipal council as well as for provincial and national representation.
3. To describe Orania as a "right wing town” is a biased statement without any proof. Orania exists as a cultural community in accordance with the South African Constitution and many leaders from the governing party have visited Orania. This includes Presidents Nelson Mandela and Jacob Zuma as well as then ANC Youth leader, Julius Malema. There is no substance or proof that the community is somehow “right wing”.
Kemp argues that that a court decision dating back to 2000 allows Orania to regulate its own affairs on a municipal capacity. It is therefore misleading to say that Orania could fall into any political party's hands.
He also adds that neither Orania nor the Orania Movement was contacted to check the facts.
In its response, Chetty notes that the publication has accepted that in one respect the article was capable of misinterpretation (relating to the 2014 elections) - and says they have already corrected that. She notes that the boycott of municipal elections in 2011 was widely reported, and includes links to other media coverage to substantiate her argument.
In response to the issue of a boycott, Chetty says this issue could be debated - since only four people voted, for all practical purposes “there was a “boycott”. However, the publication accepts that there was no formal boycott of the 2014 general elections and states that its online version has already been corrected. (See: http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/2016/06/03/orania-likely-to-fall-under-eff-council
In response to the second part of the complaint related to Orania’s membership of the Pixley Ka Seme District Municipality, Chetty says they relied on a map contained in the local economic development strategy document.
The reporter’s understanding was that Thembelihle was a local municipality in the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality. Orania falls under ward 2 in the Thembelihle Local Municipality - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thembelihle_Local_Municipality. This information was also provided by the mayor Danny Jonas and the EFF.
With regard to the use of the nomenclature “right wing”, the Business Day says this description has been widely used since the enclave was set up. Chetty argues that it in no way does this reflect bias, but it was merely a description that has been employed before.
Chetty submits that the Kemp should have written a letter for publication, rather than submit a complaint to the Ombud’s office.
Analysis
In reviewing this complaint, the Ombud needs to consider if the publication had breached the Code of Ethics and Conduct in the gathering and reporting of its news.
Specifically, I have considered Section 1.1 (“The media shall take care to report news truthfully, accurately and fairly”), 1.3 (“Only what may reasonably be true, having regard to the sources of the news, may be presented as fact, and such facts shall be published fairly with reasonable regard to context and importance.”) and section 1.8 (“The media shall seek the views of critical reportage in advance of publication.”
Boycott
The publication has already removed references to a 2014 elections boycott and now includes the following statement: *This article was edited to remove an incorrect reference to Orania residents boycotting the 2014 general election.
Municipal status
In this case, both Kemp and BDlive are correct in that the Pixley Ka Seme District Municipality oversees a number of municipalities of which Thembelihle (in which Orania falls) is one. In this complaint, the issue of Orania’s municipal status is also linked to whether or it would be run by any political party. The story says that Orania would likely “fall under” an EFF run municipality - it does not say the EFF would run Orania.
‘Right wing’
The term “right wing” is an accepted term for a conservative political viewpoint and is arguably not seen as a statement of bias. Indeed, it is consistently used to describe the town.
Finding
Boycott.
There is no finding as this matter has already been corrected.
Municipality Status
The status of the municipality has bearing on the focus of the story in that it gives credence to whether or not Orania has some autonomy or would be run by the EFF. The publication showed that it had made efforts to verify the information even though it had not contacted a representative for Orania. Despite this, Orania and its representatives are correct in expecting to be contacted of their views.
‘Right wing’
This part of the complaint is dismissed as the term is an accepted descriptor for the area. .
Seriousness of breaches
Under the headline Hierarchy of sanctions, Section 8 of the Complaints Procedures distinguishes between minor breaches (Tier 1), serious breaches (Tier 2) and serious misconduct (Tier 3).
The breaches of the Code of Ethics and Conduct as indicated is a Tier 2 offence in that the view of subjects of critical reportage are not sought.
BDlive is reprimanded for failure to seek out the views of the subject of reportage and is cautioned against such actions in future. It should invite Kemp to express his complaint through a letter to the editor and indicate that the letter is part of the sanction for breach of the code.
Appeal
Our Complaints Procedures lay down that within seven working days of receipt of this decision, either party may apply for leave to appeal to the Chairperson of the SA Press Appeals Panel, Judge Bernard Ngoepe, fully setting out the grounds of appeal. He can be contacted at Khanyim@ombudsman.org.za.
Paula Fray
Deputy Press Ombud