Cape Town - Political parties and religious and other leaders are calling on clients of Standard Bank to close their accounts if the bank makes good on its threat to shut the accounts of Independent Media and 30 other companies in the Sekunjalo Group.
On Tuesday, the 31 companies, of which nine are media organisations that use Standard Bank’s services, applied for an urgent interim interdict in the Equality Court to prevent the bank from closing its accounts on September 15.
Presiding Judge Judith Cloete said she would deliver her ruling tomorrow.
Since it began its suit against the Sekunjalo Group, Standard Bank has cited “reputational risk” based on unfavourable reporting by rival media outlets for wanting to terminate the group’s business accounts.
In response to the threat to the media companies, which publish 15 weekly and daily newspapers, as well as 18 community papers and magazines around the country, the National Freedom Party’s (NFP) parliamentary caucus strongly condemned Standard Bank’s decision.
NFP leader in Parliament Ahmed Munzoor Shaik Emam said the bank’s alarming move not only threatened media freedom and the livelihoods of countless South Africans, but also raised concerns about political interference in the diversity of opinion within the press.
Shaik Emam said: “Standard Bank's decision jeopardises the principles of media freedom and freedom of speech. There is a bigger agenda at play here. There is a concerted effort to shut down or cripple media houses who ideologically don’t align to the dominant narrative.”
Shaik Emam said the NFP firmly supported the Sekunjalo Group in opposing Standard Bank’s infringement on the right to trade and freedom of speech. He added that the bank’s attempt to invoke the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (Fica) as a justification for closure was weak.
If Standard Bank’s actions are allowed to proceed unchecked, it would set a dangerous precedent for any individual or entity holding a bank account, said Shaik Emam, adding that it would lead to a chilling effect on media organisations’ ability to report fearlessly and independently.
“This is not simply an assault on a media institution, but an assault on the very foundations of democracy. The NFP implores Standard Bank to reassess its course of action and calls for transparency.
“If they refuse, we have no choice but to call on South Africans to close their accounts with the bank and move to banks committed to press freedom and democracy,” he said.
Echoing the NFP’s sentiments, The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has also expressed its disappointment with the decision taken by Standard Bank.
The party said that while it could acknowledge why the Bank would want to safeguard its integrity, it was disheartened to see the Bank’s treatment of Sekunjalo in comparison to that of other entities such as Steinhoff and Glencore.
ATM president Vuyo Zungula said: “Standard Bank did not threaten to close the accounts of Steinhoff, despite it being implicated in a massive financial scandal that defrauded people of billions of rand.
“Similarly, Glencore has been embroiled in numerous controversies, but it has not lost its banking privileges. This disparate treatment raises questions about fairness and consistency in the financial sector,” Zungula said.
The executive assembly of the Injeje yabeNguni Council has also thrown its weight behind Sekunjalo, rallying South Africans to stand in support of the group should Standard Bank continue with threats of closure.
Meanwhile, religious leader Reverend Rodney David Naidoo, who heads The Church of Cape Town, condemned Standard Bank’s plans, saying that the banking giant should not be allowed to misuse its power and influence.
“In this day and age, we should never tolerate such bullying tactics. There are thousands of people whose livelihoods are at stake. Standard Bank wants to cause a bloodbath, and we all need to stand behind Independent Media,” Naidoo said.