eNCA reporter Michael Appel reports on his first-hand experiences working at the Gupta family's ANN7 propaganda channel on DStv: 'It was an abusive work environment'.

The eNCA (DStv 403) reporter Michael Appel who used to work at the now-shuttered and controversial ANN, in a report on eNCA reveals more of the horrific working conditions and the abuse of staffers which he had personal experience of and that took place at the Gupta family's propaganda TV channel on DStv.

Michael Appel decided to file his report in which he includes personal recollections and experiences of working at ANN7, following the testimony on Monday and Tuesday of Rajesh Sundaram, the former start-up editor at the channel who appeared before the Zondo commission's State Capture Inquiry this week.

Rajesh Sundaram described in detail, similar to his book Indentured, how the Guptas and TV executives flouted labour laws, bypassed South Africa's visa laws, secretly met with former president Jacob Zuma to set up ANN7 on MultiChoice's pay-TV service as a propaganda channel, lied to MultiChoice executives, and how and why ANN7's launch was a disaster and a "trainwreck".

Michael Appel worked at the closed down The New Age newspaper and ANN7 for about half a decade and describes it as "a difficult time in my career that I don't like to think back on".

Michael Appel who worked at the newspaper side of the Guptas' media empire, switched over to ANN7 several months after the disastrous launch of the TV channel in August 2013 and made his TV debut in March 2014.

In his report he shows a work list indicating how he and other ANN7 reporters and journalists were required to work 10 hour shifts for 12 days in a row.

Ethel Williams Abrahamse is a former ANN7 employee who started working at ANN7 three days before it launched.

She told Michael Appel on-camera about how she is still traumatised over the horrific treatment she and staffers were subjected to and recounting specific terrible incidents with executives like former CEO, Nazeem Howa "and his cheap shoes", as well as Atul Gupta's racist tirades and their paranoid actions like installing cameras in the restrooms.

"It was an abusive work environment most of the time," recounts Michael Appel. "Speak up, and you're targeted."

Michael Appel says ANN7 "is a place where careers began, yes, but also a place of suffering degradation".

Four businesses want to start new free-to-air TV channels in South Africa, including ANN7, Sekunjalo through Tshwaranang, and Econet Media's Kwesé TV.

Four business consortiums want to start new freely available TV channels in South Africa - including the so-called "Gupta news" channel ANN7 that MultiChoice is dumping from DStv in August, as well as Sekunjalo that owns the South African print group, Independent Media, looking to launch its first TV channel.

South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) received four applications from interested parties who want to start individual, commercial free-to-air (FTA) TV channels.

The last time the regulator opened applications for people to start free-to-air channels to be competition for the SABC and e.tv in 2014, all 5 who applied were disqualified in 2016.

All 5 were refused licences due to problems with cross-media ownership that didn't adhere to regulations, not complying with foreign ownership restrictions, not complying with the ownership share regarding historically-disadvantaged groups and not proving they have adequate financial backing to start sustainable TV channels in South Africa.

Infinity Media Networks - the company name that owned ANN7 before selling it to Mzwanele Manyi's Afrotone Media Holdings - wanted to start a freely available version of ANN7, and has now applied again.

Icasa has published the 4 applicant's names in the Government Gazette of 13 March 2018 with the public that had until 4 April to respond.

The actual applications and application documents are available to the public, but can only be access by people who are in Johannesburg and who physically have to go to the Icasa library in Sandton during office hours. Icasa says the applications are not available online for the public to study.


The following businesses applied for TV channel licenses:

Kwesé Free TV
Econet Media runs Kwesé TV as a pay-TV service outside of South Africa in several Southern African countries but doesn't have a licence to run a pay-TV service in South Africa.
Kwesé has a South African office in Bryanston, Johannesburg, and its one channel, Kwesé Free Sports was just added to the free-to-air satellite service, OpenView HD (OVHD) run by eMedia Investment's Platco Digital.

Econet Media would like to get a foot in the door by starting a free TV channel in South Africa that will start getting its brand out there and build brand recognition in the country, after which it will wait until it can apply for a pay-TV license to become competition for MultiChoice's DStv, StarSat and Deukom.


Infinity Media Networks
Infinity Media Networks used to run ANN7. Then the controversial Gupta family sold ANN7 to Mzwanele Manyi and his Afrotone Media Holdings in a "vendor financing" agreement.
Now Infinity Media Networks is listed again as an applicant to start a new, free-to-air TV channel.

While Infinity Media Networks' name is listed as the applicant for a TV licence, the telephone number listed is that of ANN7 in Midrand - 011 542 1222. The physical office address and the postal address are those currently used by ANN7, and the email addresses provided to the public in the Government Gazette are both ANN7 email addresses.


Free to Air TV
Little is known about this applicant whose office address is given as being in Melrose North, Johannesburg.


Tshwaranang Media
Tshwaranang Media is from Sekunjalo Independent Media (SIM) controlled by Iqbal Survé who owns 55% of the Independent Media Group.

The contact details provided to Icasa are those of the African News Agency (ANA), the tiny wire service run by Sekunjalo and Independent Media, where the contact point for Tshwaranang Media is given as ANA Pictures CEO and Independent Media Solutions (IMS), Amit Makan.

Tshwaranang Media also lists contact details at Condé Nast in Cape Town, with Condé Nast Independent Magazines (CNIM) that is part of Sekunjalo Independent Media.

Before selling its treasured archives to MultiChoice, the SABC also sold it to ANN7 as Gupta executives laughed at 'stupid' SABC: 'The people at the SABC can be bought for a meal and a drink'.

Before the struggling South African public broadcaster sold its treasured archives to MultiChoice in a controversial channels deal, the SABC also apparently sold it to ANN7 (DStv 405) as Gupta executives laughed at the "stupid SABC" and said: "The people at the SABC can be bought for a meal and a drink; they are willing to give away their treasure trove of historical footage for peanuts".

The stunning claim is the latest of many to emerge from the buzzed about new book, Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV, by author Rajesh Sundaram, a former ANN7 giving an insider's perspective on the horrific working conditions during the set-up and eventual disastrous launch of the "Gupta news" channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform in August 2013.

While much has already been reported about the SABC's controversial deal with MultiChoice selling its archives to Naspers' pay-TV unit, it's now coming to light that the SABC actually also allegedly sold its archives for a fraction of what it's worth to the Gupta family accused in a litany of widespread State Capture allegations.

In his book, Rajesh Sundaram writes that that Laxmi Goel, an executive roped in by the Guptas to help with the setting up and launch of ANN7, during a meeting revealed "an elaborate plan to buy archival footage from the SABC".

"He told me how the Guptas had got a nod from the state broadcaster to buy this valuable archive. The SABC had plans to set up a 24/7 news channel of their own, but they were willing to sell their archives for a sweet deal to the Guptas".

"They have all their archives on mini DV tapes. Their library is not automated or digitised, and it takes them ages to find any footage. We will bring these tapes to our studio and digitise them. So from day one we will have a tapeless library with systems that will make it possible for us to pull out footage within a few seconds."

"We know the people at the SABC, so we will get footage at a very low rate. You will have to make sure that all the footage of historical importance at the SABC is included in the 100-hour bulk deal we plan to do with them," Laxmi Goel apparently told Rajesh Sundaram.

"But the SABC eventually did not allow the footage to be taken away from their office. Rahul Singh, a senior video librarian from India, was sent with mini digital video format tapes and asked to bring back 100 hours of footage from the thousands of tapes at the SABC archives".

"He spent about a month going to the SABC every day and sitting at a video editing bay there and transferring all the valuable historical footage the SABC had in its tape library. By the time he resigned and went back to India, he had collected 60 hours of priceless footage from the SABC library," writes Rajesh Sundaram.

"We are paying them a lump sum to get this footage. We have got a very sweet deal with them. The people at the SABC can be bought for a meal or a drink; they are willing to give away their treasure trove of historical footage footage for peanuts."

"They have a clause in the contract that says that we will have to also pay them a "per second" fee for every time we air the footage we have taken from them. But they are so stupid, how will they be able to tell what is their footage? How can they audit our use? We will get all their footage forever at just this one-time cost," Nazeem Howa said when the footage transfer were discussed later, writes Rajesh Sundaram.

He writes that Rahul was instructed "to take anyone he interacts with at the SABC for a drink or mean any time they wanted to when he was at the SABC transferring footage. He was told by Nazeem that this cost would be reimbursed to him".

"Get all of Nelson Mandela's footage, get footage of the atrocities on the blacks during the apartheid years; we can use it to show the young people of today how the whites treated their grandparents and parents. This footage is priceless, and I want you to take as much of it as possible back with you. Even if you get more than 100 hours, get that, we will pay them under the table, Atul Gupta told Rahul during our discussion."

"The archival footage at the SABC was indeed of a very high quality and in my view worth millions of rands," writes Rajesh Sundaram. "Nazeem, Laxmi and Atul repeatedly told me that the contract with the SABC for this sale favoured ANN7, was drafted by Gupta lawyers and that the price of the footage was 'peanuts' compared to its real value."

"Rahul digitised all the footage he got the very same day and catalogued and classified it on the video library system. This meant transferring the footage from tapes to servers. After the footage was tagged and put on the server, ANN7 was able to retrieve and air it in a matter of seconds, something that would take the SABC team hours or even days to do."

"I have not been able to figure out why the SABC signed this contract and handed valuable footage shot over decades to a company that had far superior archiving technology and would be a rival to its own proposed 24-hour news channel".

The SABC was asked in a media enquiry on Monday if the public broadcaster possibly has any comment or statement regarding what Rajesh Sundaram writes in his book Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV, about the SABC and the SABC's archive material that was given to ANN7.

The SABC didn't respond.

Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV is published by Jacana Media and is available in bookstores at R185.

Democratic Alliance reveals MultiChoice is refusing to release its full internal report on the controversial 'Gupta news' ANN7 channel despite PAIA application; MultiChoice says the DA has not shown that it has a right to access the report under that Act.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) political party says Naspers' satellite pay-TV business, MultiChoice has this month refused the DA's request for the full report on its payments to the controversial "Gupta News" ANN7 (DStv 405) channel and that MultiChoice says it doesn't recognise "public interest as a right.

MultiChoice told TVwithThinus in response to a media enquiry asking about the Democratic Alliance's statement, that the DA's comments are misleading.

It has also come to light that the meeting of the portfolio committee on communications scheduled in parliament for this week that was supposed to be attended by MultiChoice, ANN7 and the broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), has been postponed.

Humphrey Maxegwana, chairperson of parliament's portfolio committee on communications, said that the meeting to hear from MultiChoice, ANN7 and Icasa what is going on, had been postponed without giving any reason as to why this week's meeting was abruptly cancelled.

Phumzile Van Damme, a Democratic Alliance member of parliament (MP) on Wednesday said that MultiChoice has refused the DA's request for the full report on its payments to ANN7 allegedly to influence government policy on digital terrestrial television (DTT) migration in its favour.

"MultiChoice states that it is under no legal obligation to make the report public, and furthermore does not recognise 'public interest' as a recognised right," said Phumzile Van Damme.

"Last month the DA submitted an application to MultiChoice in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) for the full report compiled by its Audit and Risk Committee, to be made public, following MultiChoice's internal investigation into payments to the Gupta-linked ANN7.

"The press conference in January announcing its findings was scant on detail, vaguely admitting 'mistakes were made', and holding no-one accountable," said Phumzile Van Damme.

"No information was provided for the reasons for the payments to ANN7 first at R25 million, increased to R50 million and then R141 million."

"The DA believes that the public needs to know the full truth about the dealings between MultiChoice, ANN7 and indeed the SABC, and whether MultiChoice, a private company, engaged in 'policy capture' by paying inducements to influence government policy in its favour."

The matter is currently before Icasa's Complaints and Compliance Committee.

MultiChoice told TVwithThinus that "The DA's comments in regards to the PAIA application are misleading".

"MultiChoice has declined to provide access to documentation requested by the DA under PAIA. It has done so because the DA has not shown that it has a right to access the report under that Act. The documentation has also been refused on various other grounds, including that the documentation also contains protected commercial information and is legally privileged."

MultiChoice says the Democratic Alliance's application "is without merit".

Meanwhile Phumzile Van Damme also revealed that MultiChoice's refusal to make its full interla report into ANN7 public, coincides with the cancellation of a scheduled meeting in parliament this week that was to be attended by MultiChoice and ANN7 executives, as well as Icasa.

"When requesting the reason for the cancellation of the meeting, my colleague Veronica van Dyk, was told by the chairperson of the committee, Humphrey Maxegwana, that changes were made to the programme and the meeting would be rescheduled in the near future," said Phumzile Van Damme.

"The Democratic Alliance objected to this, as all parties in the committee, including the ABC, has agreed that the matter relating to MultiChoice was urgent, and needed to be dealt with as a priority. A meeting where a parliamentary inquiry, as ordered by the Speaker's office in August 2017, into Faith Muthambi's role in State Capture was due to be discussed, also mysteriously disappeared from the committee's programme."

"It therefore seems that all Gupta-related meetings are being kicked for touch and delayed in perpetuity as is sometimes teh case when dealing with uncomfortable matters at the communications committee. This has no doubt been exacerbated by reports today revealing the direct involvement of former president Jacob Zuma in the setting up of ANN7," said Phumzile Van Damme.

"The Democratic Alliance will continue to be relentless in its push for both meetings to be held, and inquiries conducted. Jacob Zuma must also be subpoenaed to appear before parliament to explain his role in the saga".

"The DA will not rest until the full truth is revealed about both policy and State Capture involving the department of communications, its entities, and the industry it regulates".

ANN7's Midrand headquarters raided by immigration officials from the department of home affairs after Indian worker visas have apparently expired.

The Midrand headquarters of the controversial ANN7 (DStv 405) channel was raided by immigration officials on Thursday afternoon, the department of home affairs confirmed.

The surprise raid comes as the work visas of several ANN7 staffers from India, including several managers, had apparently expired.

Mzwanele "Jimmy" Manyi didn't respond to media enquiries about the home affairs raid on Thursday.

His Afrotone Media Holdings now owns the notoriously biased "Guptanews" channel on DStv that MultiChoice is shutting down at the end of July.

Fugitive Guptas as currently being hunted by South African law enforcement as they continue to evade the law that is looking for them due to their connection to widespread alleged "state capture" in South Africa.

The work permits of several ANN7 staffers from Indian, including multiple managers, have apparently expired, and they allegedly kept working.

ANN7 insiders said Indian workers were herded into the one green room where they were made to wait, while ANN7 staffers looked on.

ANN7 staffers said the home affairs check was "completely unexpected".

The department of home affairs in a statement said that it had conducted a "routine inspection" at ANN7.

"As part of its mandate, the inspectorate directorate of the department undertakes regular inspections on the basis of information provided to them, which information would demand a thorough investigation including in loco inspections."

"In this regard, our officials visited the ANN7 studios to verify information related to visas of certain individuals employed by the organisation".

"Once verified, the department will release the findings of the inspection."

Thousands of concerned DStv subscribers want clarity from MultiChoice boss Mark Rayner on DStv's continued business with the slanted ANN7 channel, says OUTA.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) in a letter to MultiChoice boss Mark Rayner says thousands of concerned DStv subscribers want the pay-TV platform to drop the Gupta-linked ANN7 (DStv 405) that is associated with biased content and slanted reporting.

Outa wrote to Mark Rayner, questioning MultiChoice's "morality of DStv's continued business transactions with ANN7", and asking Mark Rayner to please respond on behalf of MultiChoice to the "growing demand for clarity of your organisation's position with ANN7".

MultiChoice was asked for comment about Outa's open letter to Mark Rayner about clarity on MultiChoice's position on ANN7.

MultiChoice says "we confirm that we received the letter from Outa. We've contacted them and we'll be meeting them next week to discuss their concerns."

Outa CEO Wayne Duvenhage says DStv subscribers are forced to pay for ANN7 and are directly funding the channel.

Further leaked emails from the Gupta leaks last week shed further light on the insider contract negotiations and dealings between MultiChoice and ANN7.

Hundreds of millions of rand of DStv subscribers' money is being paid by MultiChoice to the channel known for its distorted news coverage with ANN7 that that has been accused of inciting racial division in South Africa.

Unrelated to Outa's open letter, so far more than 12 500 DStv subscribers have signed an online petition at petitions24.com, that wasn't started by Outa, demanding and explaining why they want MultiChoice to dump ANN7 and that they don't want to be forced to pay for the slanted channel that they say is damaging South Africa.

MultiChoice as a pay-TV service is supposed to keep clients happy. It's not clear what exactly MultiChoice is doing about the thousands of DStv subscribers who are vocally complaining about ANN7.

Outa says ANN7 was "allegedly initiated with taxpayers' money and set up to support a political bias driven by the politically connected Gupta family".

"We believe the recent actions to cease doing business with Gupta companies by the banking institutions and and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange - ostensibly due to the Gupta family's deep involvement in State Capture and alleged money laundering - is sufficient for DStv to review its "business as usual" stance with ANN7."

Outa says "adding weight to this call is the growing dissatisfaction of ANN7's seemingly biased content and slanted reporting on current political affairs."

Outa says "ANN7 peddles 'fake news' and pro-Zuma propaganda, with the channel openly attacking those who take umbrage on matters of State Capture and corruption linked to Jacob Zuma,his family and friends."

"We remind you of the plight suffered by Bell Pottinger, KPMG, SAP, McKinsey and others, who believed that hiding behind confidentiality and contractual clauses would suffice as reason to continue their unacceptable conduct."

Outa is pleading with MultiChoice "to do the right thing" and to heed "the call by civil society, for greater transparency and decisive action against entities that conduct themselves in a manner that minimises South Africa's prosperity".

Oakbay Investments sells controversial ANN7 on DStv and The New Age Newspaper for R450m to former ANC publicist Mzwanele Manyi in a 'vendor licensing' deal.

The former ANC publicist Mzwanele "Jimmy" Manyi's Lodidox company has brought the controversial "Gupta-news" TV channel ANN7 (DStv 405) on DStv for R300 million and the Gupta-newspaper The New Age for R150 million under a "vendor licensing" deal.

"Vendor licensing" means that the Guptas is lending Jimmy Manyi the money to buy their ANN7 and The New Age.

The Bank of Baroda is closing Oakbay Investments bank accounts - including those of ANN7 and The New Age at the end of August.

The borrow-to-buy ANN7 and The New Age sale means the Oakbay media entities get new bank accounts through Jimmy Manyi.

The controversial Jimmy Manyi with close ties to the Guptas frequently appears as a "political analyst" and as an "analyst" on the controversial ANN7 channel carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform that just turned 4 years old where he shills for the Guptas and mentions the Bell-Pottinger created "white monopoly capital" catch-phrase.

The unprofessional and news-skewing ANN7 and The New Age continue to hog headlines as part of the "Gupta-leaks" trove of emails and ongoing revelations regarding South African "state-capture and notorious Jacob Zuma-linked dealings.

The Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments in a statement says the R450 million sale of its two media entities "is part of Oakbay’s commitment to preserve jobs and provide certainty to over 7 500 hard-working employees throughout the group and to safeguard the inherent value of the businesses in which they work."

Offloading the controversial ANN7 TV channel from Infinity Media Networks and The New Age to Lodidox "will also allow the shareholder the time to focus on clearing its name in the face of unfounded media allegations", says Oakbay Investments.

"Under a new majority shareholder, Oakbay believes that both businesses and their employees will have the bright and prosperous future they deserve," says Ronica Ragavan, Oakbay Investments acting CEO in the statement.

"We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Lodidox and the management team; the sale of our shareholdings will secure the future of these businesses and help preserve the jobs of their employees."

"Both businesses are inherently sound and well positioned for growth in their respective market segments. We wish them every success in the future."

Jimmy Manyi says he is "delighted to have reached agreement with Oakbay and look forward to successfully completing the deal."

"These are two strong businesses which are full of potential and, under the right external circumstances, can become an increasingly important and relevant part of the South African media landscape."

"In addition, I am particularly impressed that the shareholders of Oakbay have agreed to do a vendor financing at acceptable terms as part of their commitment to transformation and to expedite the transaction."

ANN7 on DStv called 'a bunch of wankers' for not showing the SABC inquiry; Sindy Mabe disses viewer: 'You obviously don't care about the price of milk'.

Love this. Michael from George calls ANN7 asks why they aren't showing #SABCinquiry, says they're biased and calls them a bunch of wankers. pic.twitter.com/hTQxkPaf62

— Mike Davies (@AfricaAnalyst) December 12, 2016

In yet another jaw-dropping on-air faux pas a viewer called ANN7 (DStv 405) "a bunch of wankers" for the failure of the Guptas' TV news channel to show the ongoing SABC inquiry.

In yet another bisarre ANN7 on-air incident, a viewer, Michael from George, called in on Monday and slammed the TV news channel from Infinity Media, carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform, as "a bunch of wankers" for not showing the SABC inquiry.

SABC News (DStv 404) and eNCA (DStv 403) both broadcast the shocking and revealing testimony from a litany of witnesses about the allegations of corruption, fraud and the collapse of governance at the South African public broadcaster on Monday, while ANN7 had a panel discussion about the price of milk.

"Why don’t you broadcast that parliamentary thing on the SABC?" asked Michael.

The stunned Sindy Mabe, formerly on-air at the SABC and e.tv and who recently jumped to ANN7, told the viewer "you obviously missed it Michael, but what is your real question?"

"No, it is on now! It is on now!" said Michael. "We also have programming, Michael," blurted Sindy Mabe.

"You’re just biased aren't you? You're such a bunch of wankers, you know that? The SABC – " and then he was abruptly cut off.

Sindy Mabe deadpanned: "Michael, you obviously don't care what the price of milk is".

Corruption: SABC destroyed from within

On Monday in parliament, witnesses slammed and implicated the Gupta owned The New Age (sister newspaper to ANN7) in attempts to capture the SABC's SABC News division and for money being funneled from the SABC to ANN7.

The SABC's former head of technology, Sipho Masinga, told parliament how, before ANN7 was launched as a MultiChoice channel, he was in a meeting with Nazeem Howa who had a 3-page document detailing how it wanted to take over, run and rebrand the SABC's news.

"I couldn't believe it," said Sipho Masinga. "The New Age wanted to take over and manage SABC News with the SABC that has to supply the staff. The New Age tried to take over SABC News and rebrand it".

"I knew if I opened the door (to the Guptas) that we were going to have problems." Sipho Masinga testified that Hlaudi Motsoeneng left the room just before The New Age document with the proposed take-over of SABC news was given to him.

ANN7 was later launched as Infinity Media's own TV news channel that belongs to Oakbay Investments, the same as The New Age.

Later during the day, the freelance SABC contributing editor Vuyo Mvoko – who was effectively fired as one of the so-called "#SABC8" earlier this year for speaking out against Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s TV news censorship decree – also slammed ANN7.

Vuyo Mvoko testified that money that should be coming to the SABC is being funneled to rival broadcaster ANN7 through the controversial The New Age Breakfast Briefings broadcast on SABC2's Morning Live.

"What SABC executives haven't informed you about is they have allowed SABC money to be used to build a rival channel – ANN7."

"Yet, the money the owners of TNA make, none of it – not a cent – goes to the SABC. From the millions they make through sponsorship, to the tables they sell at those breakfasts – they do not take any of that to the SABC except, perhaps, to the people who make things happen for them."

Vuyo Mvoko said Morning Live resources – SABC resources and budget – are diverted to pay for the production costs of the breakfast briefing broadcasts, while The New Age gets the money and dividends from the events.

Vuyo Mvoko said the SABC's TV news bulletins and current affairs programmes "are bleeding ARs (audience ratings)" because of the reputation and credibility damage the SABC has inflicted on its brand.

Vuyo Mvoko said The New Age actually wanted to do more than just the breakfast briefings and proposed "provincial The New Age breakfast briefing broadcast weeks" that would financially cripple the SABC even more.

"Someone is being enriched further at the expense of the public broadcaster," said Vuyo Mvoko. "Corruption is taking place; the public broadcaster is being destroyed from within."

ANN7 worker James says Indian staff are favoured at the TV news channel, 'Indian workers have wifi' while employees are allegedly being mistreated.

The never-ending real-life personnel drama behind the scenes at ANN7 (DStv 405) continues unabated, with an ANN7 worker called "James" who on Wednesday evening spoke out about how Indian staff are allegedly favoured at the news operation and have access to wifi, while other employees are allegedly also being mistreated.

Infinity Media's struggling ANN7 known as "Guptanews", is part of the bigger Oakbay Investments.

Oakbay is facing a banking crisis after South African banks said they are withdrawing their banking services at the end of May.

Oakbay is desperate to find a new banker, failure of which will result in employees at ANN7 and elsewhere not getting paid and the possible closure and collapse of entities like ANN7 which is carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service and which could possibly go dark and shut down after May.

Now it increasingly looks as if Oakbay workers are being exploited as a pawn to get the South African government and South African banks to "help" so that "job losses" of 7500 workers don't happen if the banking cut-off deadline arrives.

Instead of being referenced by other media for its news, ANN7 constantly remains in the news itself.

The news channel on DStv that was voted "worst employer of the year" by Cosatu in 2015, continues to be the subject of ongoing, sensational stories on an almost daily basis.

With numerous stories and allegations of human resource problems behind the scenes at ANN7 ever since it launch and the months before, right through 2014 and 2015, this year continues the eye-popping "theatre of the absurd" that is ANN7. 

On just one day - today - ANN7 is in the news itself for three different stories, all hugely damaging to ANN7's reputation, credibility and image as a news brand. 

On Wednesday morning for instance ANN7 employees Phuti Mosomane and Robbie Rousseau, the general manager of Sahara Computers (an Oakbay company), suddenly begged FNB, Standard Bank, Absa and Nedbank to reopen the company's bank accounts in an "open letter".

"We are not rich people. We are not politically connected. We have not captured the state. We have never offered any politician a job. We do not know if any of the allegations against the Gupta family or Oakbay management are true."

"We do not care. All we care about is providing for our families.If you do not open Oakbay's bank accounts we cannot be paid and Oakbay cannot pay its bills".

On Wednesday afternoon - and you can't make this up - there was a protest and ANN7 employees and Sahara computer employees chased protesting ANC Youth League members away from the ANN7 and The New Age headquarters in Midrand. 

ANN7 employees meanwhile demanded that Phuti Mosomane and Robbie Rousseau retract their letter and said it's not true that they didn't care about the allegations of state capture by the Gupta family.

ANN7 employees wanted to know why the ANC Youth League is suddenly fighting for Indian people and not for black people. 

Then, an anonymous woman working at ANN7 called radio station 702, furious about the letter and saying The New Age and ANN7 workers are not agreeing with the letter and its sentiment.

"We are now being used to fight a political war".

On Wednesday evening the total weirdness engulfing ANN7 continued when an employee identified as James called The Money Show with David Whitfield on radio 702, slamming ANN7 as a place where "employees are tired of being mistreated".

"The Indian workers that are hired at ANN7 have wifi but the South Africans – who absolutely work their butts off – to try and make sure that we produce quality news, don't get that," said James. 

"There's a mistreatment of the staff for example, the editor who knows nothing of South African news - ," said James.

"I don't think the banks are going to want to do business with Oakbay. We are asking for investors to look into ANN7. We are trying to distance ourselves from the letter."

"All we're asking is outside investors to invest in ANN7. I'm talking from the lady who cleans the floor right through to the biggest anchor at ANN7 - they're willing to produce quality news. All they need is the right investor," said James.

"There are a lot of workers who are distancing themselves away from that letter."

Meanwhile another ANN7 worker who talked to News24 claimed that Oakbay management "treat us like dogs and then they expect us to speak on their behalf. That is nonsense".


Oakbay is suddenly being repped by the controversial British PR agency Bell Pottinger who had clients like Syrian president Bashar al Assad's wife, fracking company Cuadrilla, repressive governments ranging from Thailand and Egypt to Bahrain, and even the paralympic killer Oscar Pistorius.

South Africa's broadcasting regulator, Icasa, 'warned' over Infinity Media's application to make the Gupta TV channel ANN7 on DStv a free-to-air news channel.

South Africa's broadcasting regulator, Icasa is being "warned" over the application by the Gupta family and president Jacob Zuma's son for a commercial free-to-air TV licence through which it wants to make ANN7 (DStv 405) a freely available, national TV channel.

If approved by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), the channel - one of 4 possible new commercial free-to-air TV channels that could be licensed - will become the first new freely available commercial TV broadcasters since e.tv was licensed in 1998.

On Sunday City Press reported that a legal opinion sourced by the broadcasting regulator itself, advised that granting a new free-to-air commercial TV licence to Infinity Media Networks would be illegal since the company's foreign ownership is too large.

According to the legal opinion that the Mkhabela Huntley law firm gave to Icasa, Infinity Media Networks bid should be rejected since the company contravenes the foreign ownership clause in the Electronic Communications Act as it is 37,1% foreign-owned and controlled by Essel Media in India as a major shareholder.

The influential Gupta faimly and president Jacob Zuma's son, Duduzane Zuma, are shareholders in Infinity Media Networks who has been supplying the ANN7 TV news channel to MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

Infinity Media Networks wants to take ANN7 beyond DStv and make it a nationally available TV news channel to compete with the SABC's SABC News and e.tv's eNews.

The COPE political party in a statement says that "all opposition parties will keep a sharp lookout to see how Icasa is going to process the responses to the tender" for the highly prized free-to-air digital broadcasting licence.

"Infinity Media Networks, we learn, has ambitious plans to turn ANN7 into our country's primary news source. This might possibly have been the goal from the inception of ANN7 setting up operations," says Dennis Bloem, COPE spokesperson.

"Now that South Africa has witnessed how calamitous it is for the state or a state institution to argue lamely that it was an error of the law for failing to act correctly, Icasa must be warned to proceed within the very strictest confines of the law. If it acts in defiance of the law, serious consequences will follow."

"While Icasa is still considering all submissions and no decision has been taken, it should understand that the matter is now made public and all eyes are on Icasa."

"The fact that this licence will allow the licensee to reach as many as 12 million viewers will give it the same reach as the SABC and e.tv. As such, the decision that Icasa takes must be rational and well thought out".