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Dear friends and fellow South Africans,

If the Government Communication and Information Service had announced
the launch of a state newspaper this morning, most of us would have
written it off as an April Fool's joke. But this is, unfortunately, a
serious intention of the GCIS which it has taken to Cabinet.

This raises all sorts of questions about competitiveness, about a
commercial media versus a state media, the cost to the taxpayer, the
need for another newspaper and, of course, whether this will be a
vehicle for ANC propaganda or a balanced channel of government
information.

Mr Jimmy Manyi, Government Spokesperson and soon-to-be Editor in Chief
of South Africa's largest publication has boasted to the media that,
"It will be bigger than all you guys put together." Yet he insists
that it won't cost any more than is already spent on producing
Government's magazine Vuk'uzenzele, because they intend simply to turn
Vuk'uzenzele into a tabloid.

Vuk'uzenzele has a print run of 1.6 million copies every two months,
at a cost of R40 million a year. Mr Manyi tells us that Vuk'uzenzele
the tabloid will have a print run of 2 million copies, every month. It
will be published in all eleven official languages. And the GCIS has
not ruled out the possibility of making it a daily. That perhaps, is
the most absurd part of all, considering the limitations Government
faces with distribution through its service centers. A daily paper
would be an utter waste of resources.

But anyone with a basic understanding of mathematics can see that the
magazine and the tabloid are not going to cost the same to produce.
The GCIS is well aware of this. In a briefing to the parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on Communication two weeks ago, the GCIS admitted
that it intended to ask Cabinet to allow it to access 15% of the
communications budget of every government department.

Mr Manyi, who often exposes his agenda through his loquaciousness, has
said, "This newspaper is just the first early steps that we are
packing on. We want to make sure government is not a secret service.
We want to make sure all avenues of getting the news out will be
entrusted to us." The news is not something one would want to entrust
to Government, which already holds the purse-strings of the SABC.

Government argues that commercial editors pick and choose only parts
of the three page press statements Government puts out and, for the
sake of the public interest, all the information should be made
available. This, they say, necessitates a government newspaper.

But all information is selective. Disseminating every single piece of
information about Government's decisions and activities would be
impossible, unless one is willing to produce an encyclopedia every
day. But let's not inspire Mr Manyi any further.

The task of holding Government accountable is not performed by
publicizing what it gets right, but rather what it gets wrong. The
telltale sign of a communist or autocratic state is a front page
filled with good news stories. Throughout the world, it is only in
communist and autocratic countries that government spends taxpayers'
money to celebrate its own successes, glorify the ruling elite and
tell citizens how they should see reality.

Let us not forget that the ANC wanted a Media Appeals Tribunal to
protect it from newspapers publishing false information that made it
look bad. I wonder if having a bigger, stronger and richer newspaper
of its own will nullify the need for a Tribunal in the ANC's view,
because it can counter anything the media says through its own
publication. Clearly the ANC is looking for a way to control the news
without having to rely on the same channels everyone else does. The
Spokesperson for the ANC Youth League recently weighed in with his
opinion that "the Press Ombudsman is useless."

Mr Manyi has expressed concerned that the public only sees Ministers
driving around in big cars and staying at fancy hotels, but doesn't
get to hear of all the hard work they put in. In some ways, I agree
that it would be beneficial to make the public aware of what
government is doing for our country, not only because we have a right
to know, but because it would raise national pride. But I cannot bring
myself to believe that the ruling Party would not abuse this vehicle
to paint a rosy picture that is not representative of the truth.

For instance, Vuk'uzenzele is supposed to be a channel through which
answers to parliamentary questions are publicized, so that citizens
can see their Government being held accountable. But what about the
mile long list of questions that are asked by MPs and never answered?
It is a fact that Government Departments seldom respond on time to
parliamentary questions put by the opposition, and frequently fail to
respond at all.

If Vuk'uzenzele the magazine is a foretaste of Vuk'uzenzele the
tabloid, let us consider an article from the magazine to test its
objectivity. I recall reading about the launch of the presidential
hotline in the November 2009 edition. It opened with a touching
feel-good story about a widow in Mount Frere in the Eastern Cape who
had called the hotline after battling unsuccessfully for three years
to access her husband's pension. The hotline sorted out her problem
within two days.

It was interesting, a year later, to see the announcement that 72 299
calls were received by the hotline within its first year of operation.
Interesting, because in response to a parliamentary question eight
months into the project, the President said they had already received
674 864 calls. Perhaps the figures were downgraded to cushion the fact
that only 30 540 callers had had their problems resolved.

The most recent edition of Vuk'uzenzele the magazine reached MPs this
week. I had a look at its letters page, for there have been
suggestions that while commercial newspapers edit letters from the
public, Vuk'uzenzele the tabloid would give it to us straight ? the
unadulterated views of the average citizen.

The first letter in the March 2011 edition announces a literacy
programme Government has produced. The next letter thanks Vuk'uzenzele
for being "the best magazine I've ever seen." Another details
statements made by the President in his State of the Nation Address.
Another reads, "many people do not appreciate what government is doing
for them." In fact the only letter that actually asks a Minister to
take action on schools that have no textbooks or proper buildings, is
answered by the Editor as follows, "Education and rural development
are among government's key priorities for the next five years." That
is not encouraging.

I find it very difficult to believe that Government will not abuse the
platform of a state newspaper to blow its own horn, at taxpayers'
expense. I would be interested to see whether other political parties
are given any opportunity to contribute, or even whether the Editor in
Chief of Vuk'uzenzele the tabloid will publicize the service delivery
victories of IFP-led municipalities.

The other aspect of this debate is the withdrawal of hundred of
millions of Rands worth of government expenditure on advertising in
commercial newspapers. Mr Manyi initially said that the new tabloid
would not replace government advertising in the media, but is now
talking about possibly having private companies buy advertising space
in the government publication. So if you want to advertise your
business in the country's largest publication, you will need to pay
twice; first to print the paper with your taxes and then to place your
advert in the paper. Beyond being insulting, there are a variety of
complications in terms of conflict of interest.

The Association of Independent Publishers has pointed out that many
independent community newspapers have gone bankrupt and been
withdrawn, while Government did nothing to assist their continued
existence. Yet now it is able to come up with millions of Rand to
produce its own publication on the premise that communities have a
right to access to information.

The idea of a government newspaper is not an April Fool's joke. But I
fear it is inimical to the very matrix of democracy. As far as the IFP
is concerned, we are still the champions of truth. We know that it is
dangerous and deeply insulting to make promises to the people that
cannot be kept. That is why we work in partnership with our people,
listening and seeking their opinion. Seeing things the way they are,
brings us all closer to solutions. Painting rosy pictures doesn't help
South Africa.

Yours in the service of the nation,

Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi MP