Tuesday, 30 September 2025
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) has launched a campaign titled “Appointment with the President”, coinciding with World News Day (28 September). This campaign calls on President Cyril Ramaphosa to honour an overdue appointment with the people of South Africa through the media.
The idea is simple: it is time for the President to sit down with editors and senior journalists in an open, candid engagement, as is the case all over the world in democratic countries. For too long, that seat at the table has been left empty.
We say this with a heavy dose of frustration. The last time President Ramaphosa held such an engagement was in 2020/21, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, he laid out a vision to steer the nation out of a health crisis and pledged to fight corruption. Four years later, silence from the Union Buildings has become deafening, yet it’s the year that SA hosts the G20 Summit and the National Dialogue.
Since beginning his second term, the President has avoided sustained, direct dialogue with the nation’s editors. In this avoidant behaviour he has missed opportunities to clearly articulate his vision for a country which is battling severe socio-economic hardship, entrenched corruption, escalating crime, and a deepening service delivery crisis.
South Africans deserve clarity. Journalists deserve access. Democracy demands both.
Hosting the World, Avoiding His Own
The irony is impossible to miss as South Africa prepares to host the G20 Summit in November 2025, a historic moment that will place President Ramaphosa alongside leaders of the world’s most powerful economies. The President will find time for dialogue with global counterparts, yet has not granted his own editors and journalists the courtesy of such a conversation.
SANEF Chairperson Makhudu Sefara put it plainly: “It is unfathomable that the President avoids the very platforms that allow him to explain himself and his government to the citizens of South Africa. At a time when he is leading a Government of National Unity and presiding over a once-in-a-generation diplomatic opportunity, the least he can do is face the journalists of his nation.”
Antony Sguazzin of the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Southern Africa and Africa Senior Reporter Bloomberg News in Johannesburg said: “Regular dialogue with the foreign media would go a long way to explaining transparently how South Africa’s president aims to fulfil his stated aims of reviving a struggling economy, recapacitating the country’s law enforcement services and how he plans to navigate the turbulent geopolitics he finds his country in.”
World News Day: A Rallying Point
This campaign aligns with World News Day 2025, when more than 100 countries, hundreds of news organisations, and thousands of journalists reaffirm their commitment to credible, ethical, and impactful journalism.
Branko Brkic, Founder of Project Kontinuum and Co-Founder of Daily Maverick, describes the day as: “a rallying point. If you’re an editor or publisher, you can make a difference. Lend your platform, share the message, highlight your best work, and spread our determination.”
David Walmsley, Editor-in-Chief of The Globe and Mail, President of the World Editors Forum and Founder of World News Day, echoes this sentiment: “Journalism is the line for quality information. At our best, we are brave, independent, insatiably curious, and resolute in the pursuit of the truth. World News Day is a chance to show audiences why that work matters.”
Why an “Appointment with the President”?
The President’s silence is not a minor irritation for journalists; it is a disservice to the public. Leaders are judged not only by the policies they adopt but also by their willingness to communicate openly with the people they serve.
When presidents go silent, rumours grow louder. When they avoid the press, speculation replaces clarity. And when they dodge accountability, trust in both government and democracy erodes.
SANEF’s call is clear: it is time for an “Appointment with the President.” Not a courtesy visit or a once-off handshake, but a serious, regular dialogue with the media.
We make this call in good faith, not as adversaries but as professionals committed to truth, fairness, and South Africa’s constitutional mandate for media freedom. Our newsrooms stand ready to provide credible, balanced platforms for national conversation, spaces where truth matters more than spin.
This call also resonates with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which joins the international community today in marking the International Day for Universal Access to Information. The Commission has consistently stressed that democracy cannot function meaningfully without an informed citizenry, and this is impossible without broad access to information about government processes, procedures, and decision-making.
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights provides that “every individual shall have the right to receive information.” This right is equally recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
A Call to Newsrooms and Citizens
We urge colleagues across South Africa’s newsrooms to mark World News Day and the International Day for Universal Access to Information by recommitting to fairness, accuracy, and accountability. Showcase your best journalism. Remind audiences that fact-based reporting remains democracy’s strongest safeguard.
To the South African public, we urge you to support journalism. Prioritise facts over misinformation, integrity over disinformation, and verified truth over rumours. Your trust, readership, and engagement are the strongest defences against manipulation.
As South Africa prepares to welcome the world through the G20 Summit, SANEF insists that leadership must begin at home with honesty, transparency, and dialogue. The first step is simple: keep your appointment, Mr President. The nation is waiting – and so are we, journalists and editors.
Note to Editors:
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists, and journalism trainers from all areas of South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics, and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism by fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, conducting research, and providing education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.
For more information, please contact:
Makhudu Sefara – Chairperson (079) 177-2134
Tshamano Makhadi – Deputy Chairperson (082) 223-0621
Glenda Daniels – Secretary-General (083) 229-9708
Sbu Ngalwa – Treasurer-General (073) 404-1415
Sli Khanyile – Media Freedom Chair (083) 471-0367
Katy Katopodis – Wellness and Safety Chair (082) 805-7022
Dianne Hawker – Gauteng Convenor (072) 016-5984
Judy Sandison – KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334
Rochelle De Kock – Eastern Cape Convenor (072) 969-8028
Sisanda Nkoala – Western Cape Convenor (073) 138 5564
Reggy Moalusi – Executive Director (071) 682-3695
Twitter: @SAEditorsForum
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.SANEF.org.za
