Kudos to The Sowetan

As reported by Bizcommunity the Freedom Day ad campaign by the Sowetan newspaper in South Africa seems to have provoked something of a controversy. It is based on Martin Luther King's much-quoted "I Have A Dream" speech, to neatly point out how South Africa is crudely squandering the potential freedom its people won with their own blood.

In a typical demostration of how the state-controlled media in South Africa will not tolerate press freedom (much less the expression of vital truths) the ANC's national mouthpiece, the SABC, has banned the radio ads.

SA president Thabo Mbeki has said that those inside South Africa who raise their voices about crime are "despicable racists", so I presume that the Sowetan's publisher, Bongani Kheswa is now one of those. He is also now one of the people that the SA Safety and Security minister, Charles Nqakula, has publicly stated should "leave the country" if they want to whinge about crime.

Kheswa says that “As Sowetan we feel that South Africa is ready to face the shocking truth of the adversities we went through to achieve our political freedom. Through this advert we would like to encourage people to celebrate this victory, but still keep in mind that the face of the struggle has now changed.

I hope that every person who will be listening to this advert will do so with an open-mind and realise that there is a need for South Africa to regroup as a nation to fight these new challenges we are facing in an effort to make this country a better place for the next coming generations.”

Now there's someone I'll vote for!

Click on the image below to read the ad: