In this article Mr Motseta bewailed the state of the Press Council, but did indicate to my surprise that it had been holding meetings. In particular, he referred to a meeting on 23 April 2016 when, on behalf of the absent Acting Chairman, Mr Aubrey Lute, he read a paper in which Mr Lute had expressed the astonishing view, shared with the government, that only qualifying journalists should be allowed to practice. In sum, Mr Motseta appealed to ‘his peers at the Press Council Board’ to intervene. In many ways these were astonishing comments.
How is it possible that these peers had allowed such a situation to develop over so long a period of time? How was it that they had so sat back that by omission if nothing else they had ensured that only the costly legal route was available to the general public when it sought means of redress against the private press. As it happened, I was just one who had sought such redress and my experience had convinced me that the Press Council did not even exist! But here is my story.
