The press ombudsman has ordered City Press newspaper to apologise for insinuating that former Sentech chairman Quraysh Patel breached the Public Finance Management Act.
In an article published on 1 August, the newspaper reported that Ntumba Incorporated, the auditors of a company owned by communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda, was at the centre of financial mismanagement and irregular expenditure allegations at state-owned broadcast signal distributor Sentech.
“Although the intro to the story says that Ntumba Inc is at the centre of ‘financial mismanagement’ (and irregular expenditure), there is no sentence to the effect that Sentech’s chairperson or board ‘condoned’ mismanagement,” the ombudsman said in a ruling.
“However, this is the underlying message of the whole story. City Press is directed to apologise to Patel for stating: ‘In a clear breach of the Public Finance Management Act’ (as it insinuates that he condoned illegal action) and asked to retract that statement.” — Sapa
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