STANDARD Bank will go ahead with its decision to close the Independent Media’s banking facilities despite editors pleading with the institution to consider its decision that will affect more than 1 000 workers.
The institution issued a notice of termination of banking services for the Sekunjalo Group following the judgment by the Competition Appeal Court (CAC) which found in July that Standard Bank had engaged in anti-competitive behaviour when it put Sekunjalo’s accounts under review based on allegations of reputational risk.
Following the ruling, Standard Bank told Sekunjalo that it would shut its banking facilities on August 21, but this was postponed after the institution notified Sekunjalo of its intention to give effect to the termination of the accounts after September 2023.
The termination will affect more than 30 companies under Sekunjalo, including Independent Media.
However, Standard Bank snubbed the editors’ plea to keep the accounts open. In the letter, issued in July, the editors told Standard Bank that its plan to close the banking facilities of Independent Media was noted with extreme disbelief and disappointment.
They added that this action poses a very serious risk to “our democracy, media freedom and freedom of expression”. The editors, of more than 25 titles across the country, said the decision also violets “our” constitutional rights.
The letter was sent to Standard Bank chairperson Thulani Gcabashe, Group CEO Sim Tshabalala and CEO Lungisa Fuzile.
The editors asked Standard Bank to consider a number of facts before implementing its decision.
“From the outset, we will not allow you to silence us as journalists and a media house. Closing the bank accounts of Independent Media means depriving its collective audience of more than 10 million readers of their daily news, and along with it, their right to know. It will also lead to their voices being silenced and deprive them of their right to contribute towards dialogue, debate, and constructive criticism, which are essential ingredients in a thriving democracy. In short, your decision, whatever the reasoning, borders on censorship.
Your intention to close Independent Media’s bank accounts will also endanger the livelihoods of all the company’s 1 400 employees and all their dependants – at a time when South Africa’s unemployment rate stands at nearly 35%.
Your threat, if successfully carried out, could result in a significant reduction of competition in the media space, and monopoly of the news. Is this what Standard Bank wants? Leaving no alternative for millions of South Africans?
We bring to your attention that it was our media house that exposed the PPE corruption scandal involving the highest office in the land. It was Independent Media that exposed the bank statements of the so-called “CR17” campaigns when other media houses denounced the story as fake news before, they followed our lead. It was recently this media house that broke the story about the Phala Phala theft involving the president and others, as well as corporates implicated in state capture.
These are but a few examples of the work that we do, something our competitors do not do.
Above all, Independent Media is the only media house that is truly sympathetic to the plight of the poor, giving a voice to the voiceless. Our ongoing campaigns include denouncing gender-based violence through our Don’t Look Away project and raising awareness about racism through our Racism Stops with Me and the Dignity Project, which highlights the plight of homeless people. We highlight these examples to demonstrate the role we play in giving a voice to those who were previously denied such platforms.
The implications of your decision to close Independent Media’s bank accounts are so severe that they threaten to reverse the gains of our young democracy. With respect, this is the very democracy that also protects your organisation so it can operate without hindrance.
“In conclusion, it would be in the interest of all South Africans that you reconsider your decision, which we view as political and a direct attack on media freedom. Your decision contradicts your patronage of the Sikuvile Journalism Awards. If you are genuine in your commitment to supporting journalism, it challenges the morality of your decision,” the letter reads.