We’ve held off coverage of the trials and tribulations of the Gupta-funded Africa News Network 7 since its launch here at htxt.africa, because we’re not really into mudslinging with other media and who knows, all the reports of slip-ups could be down to teething problems. But this one is too big to ignore – Eyewitness News is reporting that the channel has been engaged in “blatant flouting” of visa laws.
According to EWN’s investigative team, at least four newsroom staff who were flown in from India to assist with the launch came in on holiday visas. That means that under the rules of the Immigration Act, they shouldn’t have been allowed to work.
I know a little bit about the South African visa system, being an ex-pat myself and currently living and working (legally) under a temporary residency visa. The system can be painful – I wasn’t allowed to apply for the visa I needed until after I’d actually arrived in the country, despite spending a small fortune on the process in London – and it’s slow. I’ve spoken to several other ex-pats who work in South Africa and it can take years longer than it should to gain the permanent residency visa, and even my TR permit took several months longer than it should to come through.
But that doesn’t matter – just because the system is flawed doesn’t mean you can ignore it. There are always perfectly legal workarounds – in my case, if you have to wait longer than one month for a temporary permit of the kind I needed, there’s a judicial precedent that allows you to work under the assumption it will be granted. For ANN7 section 19(7) of the Immigration Act should have been enough:
[A business can apply for a work permit if] despite diligent search he or she has been unable to employ a person in the Republic [of South Africa] with qualifications or skills and experience equivalent to those of the applicant;
That’s such a vague definition it’s easy to phrase an application for a visa in such a way as to comply – especially for niche skills like running a 24hour TV newsroom.
The really bad thing, though, is that there’s the assumption that the public won’t notice or care. Which is a terrible attitude for a news organisation in the age of Twitter. It’s the same thinking that led the channel to ask YouTube to pull all the clips of mistakes made on its launch night using copyright legislation This may be a new news organisation, but the thinking – underestimating the audience, pretending you know best and standing aloof from criticism – is very, very old school and frankly doesn’t wash any more.
The question is, why would an organisation like this with the backing of a family like the Gupta’s risk dodging the visa rules in such a stupid way? Many will no doubt point to corruption, and the channel’s links to the ANC as evidence that they thought they could get away with it. Personally, I think it’s like a lot of minor crime in South Africa – that there’s no real fear of enforcement if you cheat in small ways.
