Posted on July 23, 2012
The editors were asked what they considered to be the biggest stories to make the headlines over the past year and why. Bruce said without hesitation that it was the Limpopo textbook story. He said, "It represents a complete failure of our government to look after children properly even though the ANC campaigned on education."
Patta agreed and said, "If we do not get education right we face massive problems in the future. This is not what we fought for."
Haffajee said it was The Spear saga, saying that it demonstrated a lot about the state of our democracy and what kind of society we were.
Makhanya spoke about the battle between Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema. He said, "It was an epic battle and a very sexy story but also full of implications for the country and where we're going."
For Ashton it was the way the media had been under pressure, yet made a stand for democracy. He also referred to the global banking crisis and it's implications for South Africa and the demand for greater transformation in the business world which he said had largely been ignored.
Gibbons posed a question about the ANC launching a deliberate assault on the constitution and Bruce agreed. He said, "It's sustained, deliberate and nasty, but always denied. It speaks of paranoia in some levels of government." Haffajee concurred: "The ANC hates the reflection in the mirror that it is held up to it. It hasn't succeeded very well in government and is now finding scapegoats across the country," she said.
The editors were finally asked what keeps them up at night. Ashton referred to transformation in the economy and said, "We need to recognise the challenge, engage with it and take responsibility."
Makhanya said, "There is a narrative building, that the constitution was a compromise and not the ideal; that narrative worries me. Also I worry about corruption becoming normal and a part of our culture. We haven't given up yet but it is slowly seeping in." Patta concurred and added that education was a big concern for her.
Bruce, on the other hand, was not too concerned. "We suffer from a sense that we're special but we're just another country trying to get along. There's not much we can do about corruption except never lie down. This country is too big to take by the throat."
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