(MISA/IFEX) – On 17 March 2003, Eastern Cape Member of Executive Council (MEC) for Provincial Safety, Liaison and Transport Dennis Neer launched an attack on the press for its allegedly “biased” reporting on police transfers. Addressing the legislature, Neer said, “recently our biased media, which is clearly being fed by those who benefited from apartheid […]
(MISA/IFEX) – On 17 March 2003, Eastern Cape Member of Executive Council (MEC) for Provincial Safety, Liaison and Transport Dennis Neer launched an attack on the press for its allegedly “biased” reporting on police transfers.
Addressing the legislature, Neer said, “recently our biased media, which is clearly being fed by those who benefited from apartheid and are not prepared or willing to accept change, reported on the impact of reconstruction of the Public Service, with a focus on the SAPS [South African Police Service].”
On 17 March, the “EP Herald” newspaper reported that a junior policewoman had been told she is being investigated by a national task force on suspicion of talking to the media about her transfer to a station in the Ciskei. The newspaper reported that more than 200 police officers from across the province have joined forces with attorneys from Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth in a legal action against their placements.
Neer said that the restructuring will affect 16,000 police officers, who will be profiled and placed according to service delivery needs. He added that “the response from our detractors [in the media] has, as usual, taken a racial tone. They deliberately distort and attempt to make some of us appear callous and insensitive to the undesired consequences of having to turn around the legacy of apartheid.”
MISA’s South African Chapter is greatly disturbed by the MEC’s attack on the media. According to MISA-South Africa, his derogatory remarks are not only tarnishing the media’s image, but will also eventually discredit the MEC himself. His remarks conflict with freedom of the media as enshrined in section 16 of the Constitution, the organisation stated.
