Bridging the gap between local government and the media to ensure the public is informed.
That was the basis for the local government and media symposium held in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.
The event, under the theme “setting the media agenda to serve the public interest: debunking the barriers” was hosted by the Eastern Cape department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs in partnership with The Herald and the SA Local Government Association.
Discussions were centred around building relationships between the municipal communicators and journalists to ensure the public is informed in a manner that is simple.
Co-operative governance MEC Fikile Xasa said the government and the media should work together to rebuild the country as both were guided by the constitution.
“We don’t interact as often as we can as politicians. But we must use every platform we get to and explain to the public.
“What I’m trying to say is let’s read from the same script.”
He stressed the importance of a media that is informed and is able to explain the difference between “fruitless and wasteful expenditure” and theft.
“If the auditor-general says there has been fruitless expenditure it doesn’t mean the money is gone. It could mean that [the municipalities] have not followed proper processes.
“But that’s not to say I’m condoning it,” Xasa said.
The Herald editor Nwabisa Makunga highlighted some of the barriers to accurate reporting, saying some reporters did not understand how government operates.
“We can’t inform you when we don’t understand the message ourselves,” she said, adding that it was difficult at times for reporters to get access to information from local government authorities.
“There is at times the attitude of ‘we will not talk to you because we don’t like what you write’. Those are the people who don’t understand our role in democracy and that we must hold people accountable.”
NMU PhD candidate Ongama Mtimka, who facilitated a panel discussion between Makunga, SABC news provincial editor Deidre Uren, co-operative governance head of department Gabi Gumbi-Masilela and Sikhander Coopoo, of Afesis Corplan, spoke about the importance of a vibrant media.