Deputy Speaker, the media is an important tool for providing information to the public which has the right to know - a right that is enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic. This continues to make the media the most important tool for determining in a fair manner, without prejudice, public perceptions. This has a direct impact on the nation.
We want to congratulate those media houses that have informed South Africans throughout the stages and transition from the apartheid era to the democratic dispensation with its various forms of civil liberties and freedoms - agreed upon by South Africans with the intention of removing the shackles of the past.
The media is an instrument of peace and requires a high degree of impartiality based on a code of ethics. All this places the heavy burden of nation-building on the shoulders of the South African media.
South Africans must, therefore, monitor the extent to which the nation- building role of the media is bringing about the much-aspired-to social cohesion and reconciliation and give it their support where necessary.
The ANC encourages the media to continue to inform and engage all South Africans in a fair manner that promotes an open, democratic society as opposed to the brutal, autocratic secrecy of the apartheid era. The media is therefore encouraged to ... Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]