Is News24 neutral? Examining Naspers’ donation to ANC and DA

By Sipho Tshabalala

The veil over money’s influence in South African politics was lifted, after the Political Party Funding Act came into operation in April 2021. However, a powerful financial move still went unnoticed by many.

Naspers, the media giant behind News24, made a R5 million donation to both the ANC and DA, since 2021. Now, let’s be real: this isn’t just about money changing hands. It’s about control, influence, and the alliances that shape our nation—whether we see them or not.

Helen Zille, the DA’s loudest voice, has called the so-called Government of National Unity a coalition between the ANC and DA. But look closer, and it’s clear this coalition isn’t just in Parliament. It’s in the press, too, and Naspers’ News24 is right in the middle of it, pushing a cosy narrative that benefits both parties.

As election season unfolded, News24 provided front-and-centre coverage for both the ANC and DA, giving the impression of “breaking news” about coalition negotiations, ANC’s Fikile Mbalula, DA’s Helen Zille, and every twist in their “unity” deal. But those so-called scoops weren’t really scoops. They were a show—a neatly staged act to promote a political alignment funded by the very media house telling the story.

When the media becomes a donor, it loses the right to be called impartial. News24’s so-called “coverage” is no different from a PR firm serving its clients, only here, the clients are South Africa’s ruling political elite. The public deserves better than a media that’s tied financially to the very politicians it’s supposed to hold accountable.Here’s what’s really driving this alliance between Naspers, the ANC, and the DA—President Cyril Ramaphosa. Naspers, with its apartheid-era roots, was once a mouthpiece for the old regime, giving voice to leaders like DF Malan and Hendrik Verwoerd, the architects of apartheid.

But Naspers’ grip didn’t end with apartheid’s fall.

Today, its former CEO Koos Bekker remains on the board, while Phuthi Mahanyele, CEO of Naspers South Africa, is a former CEO of Shanduka, a company owned by none other than Ramaphosa. The DA, meanwhile, has preserved the voting bloc of the old National Party.

So here we have the DA—a party that inherited those who once fuelled apartheid—joining forces with the ANC, under Ramaphosa, who brings with him a coalition of financial and political ties. And leading the charge is a media giant with a legacy as a propaganda machine, now doubling down on its influence in a way that should make us all question what’s going on behind the scenes.

In 2017, Ramaphosa’s CR17 campaign attracted donations topping R1 billion, largely funded by the same white business elite backing the DA. Even former DA leader Tony Leon admitted as much, confirming that these business interests pushed for Ramaphosa to lead the ANC. It’s no surprise that once he took office, Ramaphosa’s policies shifted toward big business, away from the ANC’s historical commitment to South Africa’s poor Black majority.

Take Value Added Tax (VAT), for instance. In 1991, the apartheid regime introduced VAT at 10%, raising it to 14% in 1993. Back then, the ANC stood firmly against VAT increase, claiming it would harm Black communities disproportionately. As a result, from Mandela’s presidency through Zuma’s, VAT held steady. Only when Ramaphosa took the reins in 2018 did we see it rise to 15%—the first increase in democratic South Africa.

For the ANC of today, led by Ramaphosa, a policy once seen as oppressive to the poor became a convenient revenue stream.

In another eyebrow-raising move, Ramaphosa accepted an invitation in 2018 to deliver the keynote address at the  Broederbond’s centennial celebration. Let’s not forget: the  Broederbond, is the same group that created apartheid’s laws, terrorising and marginalising Black South Africans for decades.

And Naspers? It was their cheerleader.

This partnership, past and present, tells a story about where loyalties lie, and it isn’t with the people of South Africa.

The truth is that under Ramaphosa, South Africa has seen a push toward privatising state assets—a strategy that shifts ownership to white-owned private businesses, a "garage sale" of national resources. The result? Public wealth sold to private pockets, with little regard for the communities who need it most.

In 2019, Helen Zille predicted the DA would hit 20% of the vote and that they’d enter into a coalition with the ANC when the ANC vote dropped to 40%. That’s exactly what happened. This isn’t coincidence; it’s the result of deliberate moves, both political and financial. Now, South Africa has a coalition government, a so-called unity that’s anything but. Instead, what we’re seeing is a transfer of power back to the oppressors—a betrayal of the liberation movement’s promise to South Africans.

This isn’t unity; it’s a staged return to an era where control rested in the hands of a select few. Naspers’ News24 plays its part, spinning stories that support the DA and ANC, not because it's the truth, but because it’s doing PR for their agreed end goal. When a media giant, with apartheid in its DNA, aligns with political powers through donations and biased reporting, it’s clear South Africa’s democracy is under threat.

The people deserve a media that holds power accountable, not a mouthpiece for those who pay the most. South Africans, it’s time to ask the hard questions: Who’s really running the show here? And how much longer are we willing to let power be bought and sold, right before our eyes?

* Sipho Tshabalala is an independent writer and analyst.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL.

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