RIGHT of REPLY: On Tuesday, we published an analysis by Ed Herbst of three of South Africa’s top news sites’ – News24, IOL and TimesLIVE – coverage of the announcement by Helen Zille that she would not stand for re-election as leader of the Democratic Alliance. The piece included a timeline of stories published.
Chris Borain, CEO of the African News Agency, responded to the analysis, ‘The acid test: How SA’s news sites covered Zille’s announcement’, and has clarified the agency’s relationship with IOL, saying Independent Media is simply a client of ANA and what IOL chooses to publish is up to its news editors. [Independent Media and ANA have the same major shareholder, in the form of Sekunjalo, but are independent of each other.]
He has given a timeline of ANA’s coverage of the announcement, and asked that in the interests of fairness and the right of reply, that we publish it in full.
“To be absolutely frank and clear the African News Agency (ANA) is not linked to any single media house or news website, it is a completely impartial news syndication service available to all media outlets and subscribers,” he said.
“To therefore compare as you have done today the IOL coverage of the Helen Zille announcement with that of the News24 wire service is completely wrong, misleading and clearly deliberate on your end.
“IOL is quite simply an ANA subscriber and no more, no different to any other ANA client.
“The facts, if you have any interest in them, are as follows:
“Herewith the timeline and links to the African News Agency coverage of the Zille announcement. We are not in the business of rumour and innuendo, we are an international news agency covering the facts. We are also in the news agency business to compete, but ask simply that you provide readers with the facts, rather than the fiction you’ve conjured up.”
ANA Timeline
The announcement and headline ‘Zille to bow out at as party leader’ first hit the ANA news wire at 13.17 and detailed ANA copy of the announcement and the reaction to it by seasoned correspondents Emsie Ferreira and Gertrude Makhafola followed at 13:24, 13:31, 13:45, 13:55, 14:10 and 14:15.
1. ZILLE TO BOW OUT AS PARTY LEADER
April 12, 2015|1:17 PM
ANA REPORTER
JOHANNESBURG, April 12 (ANA) – Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille announced that she would be stepping down from the position at the party’s upcoming conference.
“I won’t be available for re-election,” Zille told reporters.
ANA
2. UPDATE 1 Zille to step down as DA party leader
April 12, 2015|1:24 PM
ANA REPORTER
JOHANNESBURG, April 12 (ANA) – Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille announced on Sunday that she would be stepping down from the position at the party’s upcoming conference.
“I won’t be available for re-election,” Zille told reporters.
The official opposition party is scheduled to hold its elective conference in May.
ANA
3. UPDATE 2 Zille to step down as DA leader
April 12, 2015|1:31 PM
EMSIE FERREIRA
JOHANNESBURG, April 12 (ANA) – Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille announced on Sunday that she would be stepping down from the position at the party’s upcoming conference.
“I won’t be available for re-election,” Zille told a media briefing in Johannesburg.
The DA is due to hold its elective federal conference in May.
Zille became party leader in May 2007 and has in recent years repeatedly responded to speculation that she may step down by saying she would only do so when the party finds somebody more suitable for the job.
The announcement followed an unscheduled meeting of the party’s federal executive at the weekend.
ANA
4. UPDATE 3 Zille to step down as DA leader
April 12, 2015|1:45 PM
GERTRUDE MAKHAFOLA AND EMSIE FERREIRA
JOHANNESBURG, April 12 (ANA) – Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille announced on Sunday that she would be stepping down from the position next month but would remain premier of the Western Cape until her term ends in 2019.
“I won’t be available for re-election,” Zille told a media briefing in Johannesburg.
The DA is due to hold its elective conference next month.
She added: “This decision has been a long time coming, but I decided on it when the time was right.
‘It goes without saying that I intend to complete my second term as Premier of the Western Cape, to which I was elected in May last year. This term is due to end in mid-2019.”
Zille, who has been party leader since May 2007, said she took the decision last Thursday.
On Friday, the party’s federal executive was called to an unscheduled meeting, with some members saying it had ”emergency” status.
Zille has in recent years consistently responded to speculation that she might step down by saying she would only do so when the party finds somebody more suitable for the job.
ANA
5. UPDATE 4 DA will be even better under a fresh leadership team – Zille
April 12, 2015|1:55 PM
GERTRUDE MAKHAFOLA AND EMSIE FERREIRA
JOHANNESBURG, April 12 (ANA) – Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille announced on Sunday that she would be stepping down from the position next month but would remain premier of the Western Cape until her term ends in 2019.
“I won’t be available for re-election,” Zille told a media briefing in Johannesburg.
The DA is due to hold its elective conference next month.
She added: “This decision has been a long time coming, but I decided on it when the time was right.”
‘It goes without saying that I intend to complete my second term as Premier of the Western Cape, to which I was elected in May last year. This term is due to end in mid-2019.”
Zille, who has been party leader since May 2007, said she took the decision last Thursday, mainly because she believed the party would benefit from a fresh leadership team.
”The overriding reason has been what I believe are the interests of the DA.
“It is essential for a political party in opposition to grow in every election. While I believe we would have carried on growing beyond our current four-million support base in next year’s 2016 election under my continued leadership, I am convinced our prospects will be even better under a fresh team.”
On Friday, the party’s federal executive was called to an unscheduled meeting, with some members saying it had ”emergency” status.
Zille has in recent years consistently responded to speculation that she might step down by saying she would only do so when the party finds somebody more suitable for the job.
On Sunday she said she had been overwhelmed with advice about the decision.
“I was bombarded with different advice. I have been a leader of the DA for eight years now. Sometimes it feels like 80 years, sometimes it feels like eight months.”
ANA
6. UPDATE 5 Zille says history will judge her
April 12, 2015|2:10 PM
GERTUDE MAKHAFOLA AND EMSIE FERREIRA
JOHANNESBURG, April 12 (ANA) – History will judge her by her decisions and leadership record, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille said on Sunday as she announced she was stepping down as party leader in May.
“I am not a saint, I am not perfect. I do make mistakes…history will judge me,” she told journalists after she announced she would not stand for re-election at the DA’s elective congress next month.
Zille said she would remain Western Cape premier for another four years and would work to grow the DA’s support base in next year’s local government elections.
“We won’t sit back during the local elections, we are going to give it our all and show South Africans that we are not representatives of only one section of the population. We all know that’s a lie.”
There were some in the party’s federal excutive who wanted her to stay and some wanted her to go, she said.
Zille said she took the decision last Thursday and believed it was in best interests of the DA and that if the country.
She said she would support the party’s new leader after congress as she had been supported all through her eight years at the helm of the DA.
“I won’t be available for re-election,” Zille said.
“This decision has been a long time coming, but I decided on it when the time was right.
“It goes without saying that I intend to complete my second term as Premier of the Western Cape, to which I was elected in May last year. This term is due to end in mid-2019.”
Zille, who succeeded Tony Leon as party leader in May 2007, said she believed the party would benefit from a fresh leadership team.
”The overriding reason has been what I believe are the interests of the DA.”
Under Zille, the DA secured a vote share of 22 percent in the last national elections but it still faces the challenge of meaningfully increasing support among black voters. She said she was convinced that had she served another term as leader, the party would have managed to grow beyond the roughly four million votes it won in 2014 but it was time for new blood.
“It is essential for a political party in opposition to grow in every election. While I believe we would have carried on growing beyond our current four-million support base in next year’s 2016 election under my continued leadership, I am convinced our prospects will be even better under a fresh team… We cannot waste a single minute or a single vote.”
On Friday, the party’s federal executive was called to an unscheduled meeting, with some members saying it had ”emergency” status.
Zille has in recent years consistently responded to speculation that she might step down by saying she would only do so once the party had found somebody more suitable for the job. Criticism over her leadership style intensified last year when she became embroiled in a public spat with Lindiwe Mazibuko following the latter’s resignation as DA parliamentary leader.
On Sunday she said she had been overwhelmed with conflicting advice about the decision.
“I was bombarded with different advice. I have I been a leader of the DA for eight years now. Sometimes it feels like 80 years, sometimes it feels like eight months.”
Zille said she believed the leadership post would be hotly contested.
Academic and political analyst Steven Friedman said though Zille had extended the party’s support base in new constituencies in a manner in which Leon failed to do, the last national election results showed that she may have reached her limit in this regard.
“The reality is that if you compare the last national election with the last local government election, the DA went backwards last year and this suggests that she may have reached her ceiling. So in that sense the timing of the decision may be right.”
Friedman pointed out that while commentators would see DA parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane as the favourite to succeed Zille, the outcome would depend on had the most backing within party voting structures.
He said the DA would face criticism if it elected a white successor to Zille but added: “If they elect a black leader that person will have to grow the party’s support among black voters while retaining the party’s white constituency.”
Maimane paid tribute to Zille, saying: “Helen is a major contributor to the country’s democracy, she has contributed immensely and will leave behind a huge gap.”
When asked whether he would stand for the party leadership, Maimane said: ”I think this is something I have to process, I love my role in the party as parliamentary leader. I came to this meeting as everyone else not knowing what to expect.”
ANA
7. UPDATE 6 Zille to step down, Maimane favourite to succeed her
April 12, 2015|2:15 PM
EMSIE FERREIRA AND GERTRUDE MAKHAFOLO
JOHANNESBURG, April 12 (ANA) – Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille announced on Sunday she would step down next month, leaving Mmusi Maimane as the firm favourite to succeed her as official opposition leader.
Zille said she was stepping down after eight years at the helm to make way for new blood to build the party’s support base as it gears up for the 2016 local government elections.
She will, however, remain Western Cape Premier until her term expires in 2019.
Announcing her decision, which she said she took last Thursday, Zille told reporters she had made mistakes but would leave it to history to judge her leadership record.
“I am not a saint, I am not perfect. I do make mistakes…history will judge me.”
Her decision comes four weeks before the party’s elective conference on May 9.
“I won’t be available for re-election,” Zille said at a hastily convened media briefing in Johannesburg, following an unscheduled meeting of the party’s federal executive at the weekend.
“This decision has been a long time coming, but I decided on it when the time was right.
“It goes without saying that I intend to complete my second term as Premier of the Western Cape, to which I was elected in May last year. This term is due to end in mid-2019.”
Zille said had she left the decision to the decade-mark at the helm, it would have left her successor little time to prepare for the next national elections in 2019.
She vowed to work to grow the DA’s support in the local government polls.
“We won’t sit back during the local elections, we are going to give it our all and show South Africans that we are not representatives of only one section of the population. We all know that’s a lie.”
She conceded that there had been some members of the party’s federal executive who wanted her to stay and some who wanted her to go, but believed stepping down would best serve the interests of the DA..
“It is essential for a political party in opposition to grow in every election. While I believe we would have carried on growing beyond our current four-million support base in next year’s 2016 election under my continued leadership, I am convinced our prospects will be even better under a fresh team… We cannot waste a single minute or a single vote.”
Zille took over from Tony Leon as party leader in May 2007. Under her, the DA secured a vote share of 22 percent in the last national elections but it still faces the challenge of meaningfully increasing support among black voters.
Zille has in recent years consistently responded to speculation that she might step down by saying she would only do so once the party had found somebody more suitable for the job. Criticism over her leadership style intensified last year when she became embroiled in a public spat with Lindiwe Mazibuko following the latter’s resignation as DA parliamentary leader.
University of Cape Town academic Richard Calland said Zille’s decision was “well-timed” and not “overdue” as detractors have suggested.
He said DA parliamentary Maimane was the clear front-runner to succeed her, and doubted that Mazibuko, who is studying at Harvard, could return to successfully contest the top post.
“His speech in the state of the nation debate proved his leadership credentials,” Calland said of the replique in which Maimane called Zuma “a broken man”.
Political analyst Steven Friedman said though Zille had extended the party’s support base in new constituencies in a manner in which Leon failed to do, the last national election results showed that she may have reached her limit in this regard.
“The reality is that if you compare the last national election with the last local government election, the DA went backwards last year and this suggests that she may have reached her ceiling. So in that sense the timing of the decision may be right.”
Friedman pointed out that ultimately the outcome of the May conference would depend on party voting structures.
He said the DA would face criticism if it elected a white successor to Zille but added: “If they elect a black leader that person will have to grow the party’s support among black voters while retaining the party’s white constituency.”
Zille making a decision so shortly before the conference, may serve to avoid a drawn-out, “debilitating” contest.
“An advantage of my late decision is that the campaign that will determine the DA’s next leader will be short and sharp, given that our elective Congress is four weeks away,” Zille said.
Maimane on Sunday paid tribute to Zille, saying: “Helen is a major contributor to the country’s democracy, she has contributed immensely and will leave behind a huge gap.”
However, he declined to show his hand.
”I think this is something I have to process, I love my role in the party as parliamentary leader. I came to this meeting as everyone else not knowing what to expect.”
The chairman of the DA’s federal executive, James Selfe, also paid warm tribute to Zille.
Selfe said she had exceeded her stated commitments to build the opposition, made it more diverse and governed effectively.
The party was poised to win more munipalities in 2016, he said, and “restore hope for a better future to millions more South Africans through clean, effective and caring government.
This is arguably Helen’s greatest legacy of all.”
ANA
