EDINBURGH — The New York Times has given itself a pat on the back for producing journalism that has made a meaningful difference to the lives of ordinary people. In the process of singling out an article on South African Deputy President David Mabuza, the New York Times has also revealed that President Cyril Ramaphosa is tuned in to the world’s media. What’s more, Ramaphosa is reflecting on observations and responding with a view to improving the image of his government. – Jackie Cameron
By Thulasizwe Sithole
As part of a feature highlighting the role of journalism in acting as a check on politicians, The New York Times has credited its South Africa correspondents for sparking meaningful change for poor people in Mpumalanga through their reports for the US publication.
“After two children drowned in pit toilets (rudimentary latrines dug into the ground) at a school in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province, The Times’s Norimitsu Onishi and Selam Gebrekidan investigated the crumbling education system that led to their deaths,” it says.
“Their article pointed a finger at South Africa’s deputy president, David Mabuza, who is the former premier of the province, ‘where millions of dollars for education have disappeared into a vortex of suspicious spending, shoddy public construction and brazen corruption to fuel his political ambitions, according to government records and officials in his party.’
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“Ten days after the Times article was published, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the launch of a new program, the Sanitation Appropriate for Education Initiative, to tackle the issue,” says the publication.
Activists say the initiative introduced by South Africa’s president is not enough to solve the country’s sanitation crisis, as 4,000 schools are still equipped with deadly pit toilets, comments the newspaper.
Michael Slackman, The Times’s International editor, stressed that the fact that the reportage had immediate impact in a relatively short amount of time, signalling the power of the press to sway change.
“Our journalism had a tangible impact on the lives of people in three countries, on two continents,” he said. “That is a testament to the growing reach of The Times’s global report.”
Other articles The New York Times highlighted were an uproar over a case of a child bride in Malaysia and the arrangement of a death certificate for the family of Captain Harith al-Sudani, Iraq’s most successful spy, who died behind enemy lines and whose body was never recovered.
