The conduct of ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte was uncalled for. As a leader and a mother she must not punish the people to whom she is supposed to give guidance just because she doesn’t wish to answer certain questions. She could have handled the matter with eNCA journalist Samkele Maseko differently.
Her conduct is not only damaging to her as a person, but also to the image of the ANC as the governing party.
This could dent the party in the elections because it would seem that the ANC doesn’t respect media freedom.
If she was not in a position to answer the questions posed to her she should have politely referred the journalist to her colleagues.
The ball is now in the ANC’s court to rein her in; this is not the time to defend leaders when they are clearly in the wrong, as they did with Ace Magashule after the release of Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s book Gangster State.
Leaders must always have the capacity to deal with difficult questions, even if those questions are unpopular.
Duarte has failed to represent the ANC with humility and respect, and in future must not be given the task of engaging with the media.
In fact, the whole of the ANC’s national executive committee should attend a crash course on how to handle the media — it will be to their benefit in future.
Tom Mhlanga
Braamfontein
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