Image: Gallo

Government spokesman Jimmy Manyi

The appointment was announced on Monday by the presidency.

According to Natasha Michael, the party's spokesperson on communications, the MDDA was responsible for creating an "enabling environment for media diversity and development" and working with the media industry to address the "legacy of imbalances in media access".

Michael added that there were five reasons why Manyi was not fit to serve on the MDDA board.

Firstly, Section 2 of the MDDA Act (Act 14 of 2002) stated that the agency was "independent", and must exercise its powers without political interference. According to the Government Yearbook, the entity functioned "independently and at arm's length of its funders".

"The appointment of the government spokesperson to the MDDA clearly jeopardises the independence of the entity," Michael said.

Secondly, in terms of Section 5 of the MDDA Act, a person could not be appointed as a member of the agency's board if he had "as a result of improper conduct, been removed from an office of trust".

In June 2010 Jimmy Manyi was suspended from his position as Director-General in the Department of Labour following a complaint that he used an official meeting to promote his private interests.

"Mr Manyi appealed the suspension, but was placed on special leave until his appointment as government spokesperson in February 2011," Michael said.

Thirdly, yesterday's statement by the presidency claimed that the appointment of five new board members (including Manyi) "followed recommendations from the National Assembly".

Michael said that Manyi's appointment was not recommended by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications and his appointment had not been discussed in or approved by Parliament.

Fourthly, the MDDA Act also required that board members be persons who were "committed to fairness, freedom of expression, openness and accountability".

"Last year, Mr Manyi made headlines for suggesting that the government could withdraw advertising revenue from newspapers that do not toe the line. These statements draw Manyi's commitment to freedom of expression into question."

Lastly, Michael alleged that Manyi had a history of making racially divisive comments.

"Given his prejudiced views, it is inappropriate that he should be appointed to a body tasked with promoting diversity."

The MDDA Act allowed for board members to be removed by the president on the adoption of a parliamentary resolution calling for the member's removal.

"When Parliament sits in February, the DA will put forward a resolution to request that Mr Manyi's appointment is revoked, and will canvass other political parties to support this proposal."

Michael said the situation resembled "another ill-considered Zuma appointment."

The president had to limit the damage by revoking Manyi's appointment as soon as possible, Michael said.

COPE communications spokesperson Juli Kilian said Manyi's appointment did not make sense because the agency already reported to him as head of the Government Communications and Information System (GCIS).

"The appointment is conflicted on many levels and it should be stopped immediately," Kilian said.

She added that since government believed that the transformation of the medium, in effect, meant that the media danced to the tune of the government, then Manyi's appointment should be seen in that context.

"It is another route to influence the media. If he (Manyi) can't buy the stories he needs, then he will find another way," she said.

Kilian said government was refusing to listen to the messenger over its lack of ability to deliver and now wanted to kill the messenger instead.

"This appointment shows that the media will have to increase its defences," she said.