Month: November 2022

South Africa’s free press has been largely successful at resisting efforts by the Chinese government to influence its content, say analysts, affirming a recent study by the U.S.-based think tank Freedom House.

“In South Africa, we have a deep historical suspicion of state media,” said Anton Harber, professor of journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

South Africa’s wariness of state media, he said, stems from the country’s legacy of apartheid, the former state policy of racial segregation and discrimination that ended in 1994. Under apartheid, the media was censored.

“SA’s media is resilient and will always be skeptical when it comes to certain issues being shaped in a certain line of thought,” said Reggy Moalusi, executive director of the South African National Editors’ Forum.

The Freedom House report, titled “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022,” said South Africans as a whole, including journalists, are highly skeptical of Chinese state narratives. It said that, despite success by the Chinese government in building ties with the ruling African National Congress party, “coverage of China in South African media remains overall diverse … and often critical of the Chinese government.”

Areas of concern

Even with a democratic government and free press, the Chinese government still attempts to influence South Africa’s media environment, according to the2022 findings by Freedom House, which studied China’s media influence in 30 countries around the world from January 2019 to December 2021.

A private Chinese company with links to the Chinese Communist Party (CPP), StarTimes Group has invested 20 percent in local satellite provider StarSat, which offers Chinese state media television channels, the report said.

Another example cited in the report is South Africa’s Independent Media group, which publishes some 20 newspapers in the country. Since 2013, the group has been 20 percent owned by a Chinese consortium whose shareholders include state media. Its digital version, Independent Online, is the second most-read news site in the country.

Independent Media regularly publishes content from Chinese newswire Xinhua as well as Chinese state perspectives. “None of its outlets carry much negative commentary on China,” Freedom House said.

The company’s outlets published 16 articles, interviews and speeches by the Chinese ambassador and consul generals between 2020 and 2021, the report found. It also gives print space to local South African academics and political figures who support Beijing’s line.

Its foreign editor wrote an op-ed during the pandemic with false claims about COVID-19’s origins. Independent Media journalists have attended media junkets to China and one freelancer told Freedom House researchers that topics for articles and related links are sometimes directly provided by the Chinese embassy.

One example of China’s apparent influence on independent media took place in 2018 when columnist Azad Essa was abruptly let go after writing an article condemning Beijing’s treatment of the Uyghur Muslims.

When contacted by VOA for comment, the group’s editor-in-chief Aziz Hartley responded, “Editors have complete autonomy over their respective publications and their reporters are bound by the principles of unbiased, ethical and objective reporting.”

China’s efforts to influence the media landscape in South Africa were shown to have slowed in recent years, the report found.

The other side

Shao Hesong, second secretary at the Chinese embassy in Washington, referred questions to the Chinese embassy in South Africa, which did not reply to repeated requests for comment.

In a July op-ed published by state media China Daily, Dennis Munene, executive director of the Nairobi-based China-Africa Center at the Africa Policy Institute, made a case for more cooperation between China and African media.

Under the Chinese government’s China-Africa Vision 2035 program, he said, China and Africa “plan to strengthen cooperation in news coverage, creation of audiovisual content, training of media professionals and media technologies.” He argued there is the need for “more in-depth media exchanges’” and said Beijing “can develop technological tools for fact-checking on issues related to Sino-Africa relations.”

Africa findings

While South Africa has a high level of resilience against the Chinese government’s influence due to its diverse media landscape, the study found, the other African nations studied were a mixed bag.

“Our research found that Beijing is trying some of the same tactics in Africa as it does in Western countries, such as signing content-sharing agreements, paid advertorials, or placing ambassador op-eds,” Angeli Datt, a senior research analyst at Freedom House, told VOA.

In Nigeria, attempts at influence from China were “very high” — the fourth highest of all 30 countries surveyed — and while there was some resilience, it was less robust than in the other three. The Chinese embassy in Nigeria has reportedly contacted editors and even paid journalists not to cover negative stories, according to Freedom House.

In Kenya, there were “high” efforts by China to influence the media, but the East African country also had a “notable” level of resilience. For example, a Chinese state-owned company threatened to sue a Kenyan newspaper, The Standard, over its investigative reporting on abuses at a railway run by the firm. The paper refused to retract the story, and the Chinese embassy canceled its advertising with the paper.

Global media influence

Of the 30 countries studied from around the world, Beijing’s efforts at influencing the media were deemed “high” or “very high” in 16 of them, and only half of all those surveyed were found to be resilient to the messaging, the other half vulnerable.

“The Chinese government, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, is accelerating a massive campaign to influence media outlets and news consumers around the world,” the report said.

Source: Voice of America

Western Cape provincial laboratory undergoes R23 million renovation
“Once the renovations are completed, the Western Cape Provincial Veterinary Laboratory will provide an enhanced service to our clients,” said Western Cape Minister of Agriculture Ivan Meyer during the recent handover of the building site to the contractor.
Meyer said: “The Western Cape Provincial Veterinary Laboratory provides a veterinary diagnostic and veterinary public health testing service. Our clients are located in all provinces. Nearly 60% of the samples received for testing originate from outside the Western Cape Province. Testing activities focus on disease diagnosis, surveillance and monitoring.”
Meyer continues: “Our main scope is testing for controlled and notifiable animal diseases as listed in the Animal Diseases Act. The national requirement for all laboratories testing for controlled and notifiable animal diseases is that the laboratory is ISO 17025 accredited.”
According to Francois Dreyer, Technical Manager for Veterinary Diagnostic Services, Bovine brucellosis testing makes up 85% of the testing performed by the Laboratory.
Dreyer said: “During the renovation period, an accredited veterinary laboratory will perform free testing of samples for clients within the Western Cape. The Western Cape Provincial Veterinary Laboratory will cover the costs. The value of the testing performed during the renovation is estimated at R2.2 million.
Renovations are costed at R23 million, with completion due by November 2023.
The project will be done in three phases:
• Phase 1 focuses primarily on the on-site establishment and many outer buildings.
• Phase 2 will focus mainly on the laboratory areas, and
• Phase 3 will include the administrative- and other office areas.
“It is envisioned that the PVL will be fully functional again as an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory by the end of November 2023”, concluded Meyer.

Source: Government of South Africa

WESTERN CAPE – Efforts by Manenberg Crime Prevention Unit to rid their communities of the illegal drug trade yielded positive results when they arrested a 52-year-old female and a 27-year-old male for the possession of drugs in Corrie Court Manenberg on Tuesday morning. The members received information about drugs at the premises and searched it. The male was searched and 80 mandrax tablets and five packets crystal meth were found in his possession. A further search of the house led to the discovery of 230 mandrax tablets, 72 packets crystal meth and a large quantity of uncut cocaine hidden in the ceiling in the toilet. The estimated street value of the drugs are R20 000-00.
The suspects are due to make their court appearances in the Athlone Magistrates court on Wednesday.
In an unrelated matter, members of the Anti-Gang Unit arrested a 35-year-old male for the possession of homemade zip guns and ammunition. The members were deployed in the Manenberg policing precinct due to ongoing gang violence in the area. They received information about firearms at a premises in Hurricane Street, Tambo Village and searched it. A homemade zip gun was found on the premises. Further investigations led them to a house in Bahamas Street where the members confiscated three more homemade zip guns with ammunition.
Once charged the suspect will make a court appearance in the Athlone Magistrates court.

Source: South African Police Service

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has welcomed the arrests of 16 suspects who are accused of swindling the Fund’s COVID-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) of R2.2 million.
The suspects were apprehended in Gauteng and North West provinces by the South African Police Service’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks.
The Department of Employment and Labour said that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, three sole directors of different dormant entities applied for COVID-19 TERS funds from the UIF on behalf of respectively 47, 133, and 141 people, who were seemingly not employed by them.
At least R2.2 million in COVID-19 TERS funds was subsequently paid into the companies’ bank accounts and the money was channelled to certain individuals for personal enrichment.
Following investigations in this regard, the suspects were traced and arrested on Sunday, 27 November 2022.
UIF Commissioner, Teboho Maruping, has welcomed the latest arrests and has commended the Hawks and the Department of Employment and Labour’s Risk, Anti-Fraud and Integrity Management unit in the North West province for their relentless hard work in bringing COVID-19 TERS fraud suspects to book.
“The arrests of these 16 suspects in one operation is the biggest we have witnessed thus far, since the establishment of the COVID-19 TERS scheme. I hope this bold action sends a strong and clear message to would-be and other fraudsters that the long arm of the law will catch up with them.
“Those who have helped themselves to the funds earmarked for workers during the lockdowns must not have any peace. They must know that the net is closing in on them. We will continue to work with the Hawks in a relentless pursuit to bring all COVID-19 TERS fraudsters to book, and we will leave no stone unturned,” said Maruping.
The Commissioner also revealed that the Fund was already conducting Phase 2 of the “Follow the money” project, which entails the auditing of companies to verify if their claims were valid, and if the right amount of money was paid over to workers at the right time.
“We have appointed several forensic audit firms with over 360 auditors who are currently visiting companies that have benefitted from COVID-19 TERS funds and are suspected of fraud. Until all fraudulent funds are fully recovered and the suspects held accountable, we will not rest.
“In this regard, the UIF will continue to work with the Department of Employment and Labour’s Risk, Anti-Fraud and Integrity Management unit and law enforcement partners,” said Maruping.
In 2020, the UIF was entrusted with the responsibility of alleviating poverty in the country by providing short-term financial relief to businesses and workers in order for the economy to survive the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To date, 10 people have been convicted and sentenced to direct imprisonment or suspended sentences for defrauding of the COVID-19 TERS scheme.
Meanwhile, 46 suspects have been arrested thus far and the Fund anticipates more arrests as Phase 2 of the Follow the money project, which started in July 2022, continues.

Source: South African Government News Agency