Ron Derby: Would you pay R11 000 for a ticket to watch the ANC’s game of musical chairs? - Media houses will have to pay up to cover the governing party’s conference
It’s a few days to the 55th ANC elective conference and newsrooms across the country and international correspondents in Johannesburg are gearing themselves up for the most important piece of theatre in both the party and the country’s political calendar.
I’ve taken a week off to prepare for the four, or maybe five days that will shape much of our politics over the coming two years as we head towards the country’s national elections. On my first day back , we got news that because of no sponsorship, media houses wanting to work from the media village at Nasrec will now have to pay R11 000.
It’s a sad state of affairs for one of the oldest parties on the continent and speaks of the inability of its leadership to run its own house. The party needs media coverage. For our open and transparent democracy to continue maturing, the media is critical in telling the story of the ANC — given its centrality to the project — at this present moment at least.
But I’m not too surprised. Under the presidencies of Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa, transparency and accountability has not been top of mind. Both were loath to be answerable to the press, delivering statements or delivering speeches without any interrogation from the media. Although we initially applauded the “family meetings” Ramaphosa had with the country at the most critical moments of our Covid crisis, he never took a question. His relationship with the media has been distant.
So am I not surprised that media houses will have to pay up to cover the governing party’s conference where it will decide the fate of the presidency of the country for the next 18 months., we’ll ensure that we give you the best coverage possible in the coming week, but what is unfolding here is a tale of a party becoming a whole lot more desperate as it enters its 111th year — the dreaded Nelson. Cricket lovers will know the wariness of this number.
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