THE pending buyout of Independent News & Media South Africa (INMSA) took new turns on Monday, with the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) calling for the Government Employees Pension Fund to explain its interest in the transaction, while the South African Communist Party (SACP) came out in support of the deal. A consortium led by Sekunjalo Investment Holdings chairman Iqbal Survé plans to buy the local operations of Irish-owned Independent News & Media. The R2bn transaction would entail Sekunjalo Independent Media (a distinct operation from the investment-holding group) buying a 75% stake, with the state employees’ pension fund taking the remainder. The Irish shareholders are to vote on the deal on June 17. The deal isalso subject to approval by the South African Reserve Bank and Competition Commission. The proposed deal has generated much controversy, with the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) last week saying it was concerned at the paucity of information on the shareholders ofSekunjalo Independent Media. The forum’s views are similar to those of the Media Workers Association of South Africa — the main union at INMSA — although the union is in favour of ownershipreturning to South Africa. Sanef said the limited information could affect the constitutional mandate of the group’s journalists. Dr Survé has said the group wouldbe the first media group in South Africa to have an editorial advisory board and an editorial charter. According to a transaction notice filed by Sekunjalo Independent Media, its shareholders include Dr Survé, politically connected businessman Sandile Zungu, Mandla Mandela — an African National Congress MP and grandson of former president Nelson Mandela — and various other groupings. SACP spokesman Malesela Malekaon Monday accused Sanef of double standards. "The response by Sanef must be strongly condemned as … outrageous, selective and with disturbing racial, if not racist, undertones. What informs this sudden discovery of the interest of editorson ownership issues, including making a bizarre demand that theowner of Sekunjalo disclose who are the shareholders in the consortium? We thought … editorsare not involved in ownership issues and vice versa." Mr Maleka said Sanef was party toa DA-led agenda "to defend existing ownership patterns including existing editorial structures in private commercial media". "The SACP is of the view that Sekunjalo must not be blackmailed by their competitors who want to dictate the rules of engagement," Mr Maleka said. He said he was encouraged to hear that staff at INMSA wished to take a 25% stake in the group, but saidthe mechanics of such a deal werenot for him to comment on. The DA, however, wants state pension fund chairman Arthur Moloto to explain its investment rationale to Parliament’s finance committee. DA MP David Ross on Monday wrote to finance committee chairman Thabadiawa Mufamadi requesting a meeting with the fund, saying it was entrusted with the retirement savings of 1.2-million public servants and 360,000 pensioners and had the responsibility to ensure its investment strategy conformed with international best practice.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Jun 2013 07:13:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015