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The New Age/Sabc breakfast sessions are an innovative and important
private initiative in strengthening our democracy by ensuring an informed
citizenry.  The African National Congress is encouraged and fully
supports  the role of the New Age and Sabc breakfast sessions in
providing an unmediated and uncensored platform for public engagement by
government, public sector entities and other entities like SAFA,
informing and accessing millions of South Africans instantly. This is
inherent in any democracy that government at all levels and its entities
should use available platforms to account to the public it serves.

What is important is the fact that the breakfast sessions  are
complimented with print copies that are distributed throughout the
country because the New Age is one daily publication that has a national
distribution footprint and coverage. It is also the only daily
publication that covers all nine provinces of our country in one
publication without exception.

We believe that the TNA/Sabc breakfast sessions  capacity to instantly
inform South Africans and capacity to reach out to millions is at the
centre of the DA's gripe.  They are opposed to an informed citizenry and
public entities that keeps citizenry informed. We also want to
acknowledge the role played by state owned entities in ensuring that a
constant and predictable platform exists to showcase government work and
to facilitate a process that will ensure that the public is informed
continuously.

We are aware that the developments surrounding the The New Age/SABC
initiative that has been a source of government communication has been
unfairly and deliberately distorted to suggest that it was a funding
model exclusive to the New Age. This argument fails to acknowledge that
on an annual basis, government spends millions of public funds for
purposes of advertising and media buying using existing private media
houses. It also pays for airtime on radio and television that are meant
to keep the public abreast with developments in government work.

It is important to note that, organisations like DA have also used the
same platform to communicate with the public. The sad thing is that when
it suits them they lie about their involment as captured in our statement
of the 23rd January 2013, where-in we called on Hellen Zille to admit her
lie. Instead she has embarked on a campaign against The New Age to divert
attention from her lies and the fact that they exposed the fact that the
DA got money from the Guptas,  irregularities on the extension of the
contract of TWA Hunt Luscaris that expired in December and was quietly
extended for another year at a cost of a million rands per month,
through a bid committee that was chaired by Carol Avenant who is her
Director of Communication and a former employees of Hunt Lascaris
subsidiary called Yellw Wood Future Architects. Of concern is the
conflict of interest inherent in the role of Carol Avenant as chair of
the bid committee with blessings and leadership of Hellen Zille.

We also take exception to the allegation that Hellen Zille has been
peddling that The New Age is a conduit to raise money for the ANC. If
Hellen Zille was to be taken serious and honest she should have called
for an investigation of all government expenditure in advertising using
all media because her narrowing the call to focus on the New Age is
evident that she is not happy for having been exposed by the TNA for who
she is, a liar and an unreliable individual who will sacrifice the truth
if it does not suit her and her party the DA. We re-iterate a statement
we made previously that Hellen Zille and the DA cannot be taken seriously
by South Africans. There has been no underhand or secret sponsorship for
the TNA/SABC breakfast sessions nor has there been secret ads by
government departments on TNA. These were openly reported on in the South
African parliament. It is only a deranged mind  that can refer to the
breakfast  initiative and ad spend on TNA as 'infogate'.