Importance of whistleblowers highlighted at media workshop

Media freedom watchdog Sanef — the SA National Editors Forum — highlighted the importance of whistleblowers to a free and unfettered press during a two-day seminar in Gqeberha.

The seminar was hosted in collaboration with the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) at the Radisson Blu Hotel on Wednesday and Thursday.

It focused on the plight of those blowing the whistle on matters marring the day-to-day lives of ordinary citizens.

PPLAAF noted that not enough was being done to protect those lifting the lid on illicit activities.

“The stories of assassinated journalists and whistleblowers, corruption fighters and human rights defenders should not be a norm,” PPLAAF Southern Africa director Pusetso Morapedi said.

“These workshops and training [sessions] aim to share practical tools to equip actors in the whistleblowing landscape with applicable knowledge, for the protection of both the journalist and the whistleblower.

“Those who stand up for the public good and the rule of law deserve better than what people have been experiencing.

“When we know better, we do better.”

FNF said media freedom and whistleblowing went hand-in-hand.

“Journalists, in the course of their work, often deal with whistleblowers and write stories based on their disclosures, but might not know how best to conduct their interactions with whistleblowers in such a way that maximally protects them,” FNF research and advocacy projects head Cecelia Kok said.

“This is why PPLAAF, Sanef and FNF teamed up to convene this training workshop for local journalists here in Nelson Mandela Bay.

“In SA, we know too well just how dangerous life as a whistleblower can be.

“The case of Babita Deokaran’s assassination has come to symbolise the horrific fate of those who simply seek to do the right thing and expose wrongdoing.

“Given just how precarious things are for whistleblowers, anyone who interacts with them must be extremely careful when doing so.”

Sanef Eastern Cape convener and The Herald and Weekend Post editor Rochelle de Kock said the media industry was battling challenges on several fronts, including resource limitations for adequate training and being able to attract experienced talent.

“It was in discussion with various managers in different newsrooms in the Eastern Cape that we discovered the need for training, particularly on matters of safety for journalists and also the need for refresher training on reporting on legal matters,” De Kock said.

“Journalists at community news outlets and regional news houses are often snapped up by national news outlets, which is why it is important to get the training and the basics right at this level.”

De Kock added that whistleblowing and sources were things journalists had to deal with almost daily.

“Do our media know their rights and responsibilities when approaching articles? Also, do they know how to protect whistleblowers?

“This is something we need to be thrashed out, and the last two days were enlightening, and the start of hopefully more workshops to come.”

One of SA’s most notable whistleblowers was Deokaran, who was fatally wounded on August 23 2021 outside her home in Winchester Hills.

The 53-year-old had worked as chief director of financial accounting in the Gauteng health department and had at times acted as the CFO.

Deokaran was one of 300 witnesses in an investigation into PPE purchase irregularities in Gauteng.

Corruption whistleblower and author Athol Williams fled the country for his own safety after he exposed global consulting firm Bain & Company and its plans to weaken Sars. 

HeraldLIVE