Pretoria - The Pan Africanist Party of Azania has called on South Africans and the ANC in particular to not allow the "onslaught" on media and publishing company Independent Media to continue.
PAC President Narius Moloto held a round-table discussion on Wednesday to offer support to Independent Media staff and its chairman Dr Iqbal Survé. This follows Sekunjalo Independent Media receiving an application for its liquidation from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) earlier this week.
Moloto says anti-transformation forces have targeted the media organisation because of its revelations on the SARS rogue unit and other hidden acts of some ANC leaders.
"Of course they want to shut down Independent Media. It's the only media black people have left. It will be a tragedy if Independent Media can no longer publish the stories they are publishing. This is an assault on media and black people in general."
Moloto joins other politicians and business persons who on Wednesday threw their weight behind Survé.
African People's Convention president and former Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) chair Themba Godi called the PIC's move an attack on people and media independence. The South African Muslim Council said they would not allow "the PIC and certain political individuals to colonise the media industry again".
Takudzwa Hove, the spokesperson for SIM, said the PIC’s application was frivolous as it appeared to have intentionally omitted certain factual and legal considerations relevant to the matter.
“If it had included it, it would have made its application a nullity,” said Hove. “By virtue of the PIC’s debt-for-shares swop into Sagarmatha Technologies Limited, the PIC no longer has any claim against SIM.”
Survé has been cited as a party to the proceedings even though no relief is claimed against him. “The PIC’s application smacks of malice and designed to embarrass the Sekunjalo Group and Dr Survé,” Hove said.
Moloto has accused the PIC of "bending process". ''The PIC commission has just been extended. The report is not even concluded. We don't know who was right or wrong but they claim to want to liquidate a company. The PIC cannot run a parallel inquiry to that which has been set up by the president. That smacks of political interference" Moloto said.
The Insika Economic Forum will convene a citizens meeting in Soweto on Saturday to discuss how it plans to support Survé and his staff. President of the Forum Dr Sihle Sibiya says he has applied to present evidence at the commission on how the PIC is targeting Survé.
The PIC commission was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa on October 17, 2017, to look into allegations of impropriety regarding the PIC.
Ramaphosa has extended the deadline of the submission of the final report of the Commission from October 31 to December 15 at the request of the Commissioner of the inquiry, Justice Lex Mpati.