Head group communications at the SABC, Kaizer Kganyago, has denied that the national broadcaster will not be flighting the second of the Democratic Alliance’s ‘Ayisafani’ election ads. “The ad will be played,” Kganyago confirmed to MarkLives.
This follows media reports and claims by the DA that the ad has been banned by the SABC.
BREAKING: The DA has just learnt that the SABC will not allow our #Ayisafani2 TV advert to air in this crucial final week of the campaign.
— Democratic Alliance (@DA_News) April 30, 2014
This afternoon @helenzille and @maimaneAM will hold an urgent press conference to respond to the SABC’s decision to ban #Ayisafani2. — Democratic Alliance (@DA_News) April 30, 2014
Watch #Ayisafani2 here and tell us why you think it was banned –> https://t.co/OYU81uT4Dz
— Democratic Alliance (@DA_News) April 30, 2014
In a statement, the DA claims to have received notice from the SABC’s head of broadcast compliance, Fakir Hassen, that the SABC will not allow the DA’s second Ayisafani election TV advert to air.
“The reason advanced by the SABC is spurious and cannot stand up to any reasonable scrutiny. Mr Hassen’s written reason for not allowing the ad to air is that the opening line of the advert is false — “since the ICASA ruling on Saturday the DA cannot claim that “They tried to stop us” as the ruling had already effectively stopped the ad by then. They also cannot say anthing [sic] like “this is what they did not want you to see or know,” as it cannot show or refer to the same disallowed content.” — DA statement
As with the first ad, the second part of the DA’s campaign features the DA’s Gauteng premier candidate, Mmusi Maimane — but, unlike the first ad which discusses the failing of the government, the new ad focuses on the growth of the DA.
The SABC had banned the first ‘Ayisafani’ earlier in April, claiming it might incite violence. Here is the second ‘Ayisafani’ ad the SABC has confirmed will be flighted after all.
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