DA vs Sunday Times: who stuffed up?

15 Aug 2011

Following a communications tender irregularity report in the Sunday Times that named top Democratic Alliance aides yesterday, Sunday, 14 August 2011, the Western Cape government said that it was actually the paper that was full of it. So whose mea culpa is it? Did the Western Cape government just get a dose of the "factional battles fought via the media" tactic?

Somebody stuffed up really badly. That 'someone' is either in the Western Cape Premier Helen Zille's office, or at the Sunday Times.

According to the Sunday Times, the Premier's office awarded a multimillion rand communications tender to TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris without following proper procedures and regulations... On Sunday, Helen Zille's office issued a statement, rubbishing the Sunday Times story. The statement said that there was no truth in the suggestion that there was anything improper or "unprocedural" in the way the tender was awarded.

...Assuming for a moment that there was indeed a source (though Zille's media statement would suggest that the entire thing was pulled out of the rear end by the journalists concerned), is the Western Cape government falling for the same sort of tricks that plague the ANC? Are we seeing another factional battle playing out via the media?

Read the full analysis on www.thedailymaverick.co.za.

See also:

Google News Search: DA TBWA
Twitter Search: DA "Sunday Times" OR tender

About Sipho Hlongwane: @comradesipho

Sipho Hlongwane is a professional communicator and freelance writer based in Cape Town. Follow him on Twitter at @comradesipho.

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