ANN7 owner Mzwanele Manyi vents over detained Indian staffers: 'Chinese firms full of unlawfuls, ‘all kinds of Pakistani's in townships without documentation’.

ANN7 owner Mzwanele Manyi is lashing out over the department of home affairs inspecting the work permits of Indian staffers and on Tuesday evening decided to vent on ANN7, saying home affairs should visit Chinese firms that "for a fact" have lots of unlawful workers, that home affairs will find "lots of them" in Bedfordview, and that "they can go to the townships – there’s all kinds of Pakistani's that are there without the required documentation".

The department of home affairs on Tuesday conducted a second surprise raid at the Gupta-linked ANN7 to inspect the documents of the 18 Indian staffers working at the ANN7 headquarters in Midrand. 

Three Indian staffers who are not senior managers, were detained but not arrested, and allowed to return to work after questioning. 

Mzwanele Manyi, chairperson of Afrotone Media Holdings that owns ANN7 (DStv 405) and The New Age took to the ANN7 airwaves on Tuesday evening at 19:00 to vent about the behaviour and actions of the department of home affairs.

Mzwanele Manyi said there's been a "communications breakdown" between ANN7 and the department of home affairs, saying "we're on that process to go and drop off the documents so that they can inspect. And the arrangement was that by Thursday we'll drop off the documents there. So we were sitting here with that understanding that we are dropping off the documents on Thursday".

Mzwanele Manyi said "we have nothing to hide as an organisation" and "that is nobody at these premises who are here unlawfully". He said on ANN7 "the visas are no problem. The problem is the, shall I call it, the categorisation of the work permit. That is the whole issue, and it maybe affects two or three employees. The rest of the employees have got proper work permits."

"There's probably one or two – three at most – who are on intra [company visa], but even those, they are not here unlawfully. They are here lawfully".

Mzwanele Manyi said the Indian staffers "are highly traumatised".

"The treatment, the arrangement, that we were exposed to here today, I must say as a South African I was ashamed of my country because what they did, it reminded me of the pass law raid and whatever."

"If indeed there was this seriousness in my view, from home affairs, if there is a seriousness to weed out unlawful people in the country, surely they should have visited various Chinese firms in the country – those people indeed, for a fact, they have a lot of people that are unlawful."

"They could have gone to Bedfordview [eastern Ekurhuleni], they will find lots of them. They can come to Sandton here and look at foreign nationals that are not here legally. They can go to the townships – there’s all kinds of Pakistani's that are there without the required documentation," said Mzwanele Manyi.

"That's why this could also, the narrative that says we are being targeted here can actually be a credible narrative, because there's absolutely no reason for home affairs to really act in the manner they did when they're getting co-operation".

ANN7 didn’t respond to a media enquiry made Tuesday evening asking for comment about the latest home affairs raid.

MultiChoice is dumping ANN7 at the end of August from its DStv satellite pay-TV platform over repeated compliance breaches, low audience ratings, a lack of technical and editorial quality, as well as investor pressure arising from reputational damage over ANN7’s association with the controversial Gupta family linked to widespread State Capture allegations.

REVIEW. ANN7 on MultiChoice's DStv throws M-Net under the bus for M-Net's racist job advert - but makes several on-air mistakes in its bad on-air segment.

It was all kinds of cringe on Monday evening watching how ANN7 (DStv 405) on MultiChoice's DStv decided to throw pay-TV broadcaster M-Net under the bus for its racist recruitment ad in another sarcastic Sindy segment marred by mistakes.

ANN7 on Monday followed up on reporting that M-Net fired Ambit Recruitment for a patently racist job ad seeking a "Specifically White, English commissioning editor". 

M-Net - the pay-TV broadcaster and the Randburg-based company distanced itself from Ambit Recruitment.

It's important to note here that M-Net the company, also runs a TV channel that's also called M-Net, on channel 101 of MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

Keep in mind that the shockingly racist advert was for a commissioning editor job position that was advertised by the company - the corporate part - not the TV channel part.

M-Net in response to a media enquiry from TVwithThinus on Sunday said Ambit Recruitment subcontracted the job recruitment ad placement out and did so without M-Net's knowledge, to Kandhi Consulting.

M-Net said that the company never specified any race demographic requirement in its brief to Ambit Recruitment.

M-Net called the job ad "abhorrent", and M-Net - rightly so - caught a lot of flack from South Africa's TV industry and South Africans who called the pay-TV broadcaster out for the blatant racism.

Now cue ANN7.

The Mzwanele "Jimmy" Manyi owned TV channel decided to chime in on Monday evening with another one of its eye-rolling ANN Prime segments with anchor Sindy Mabe where slanted, leading questions is an ANN7 format forte.

These always end in a question mark so as to cushion thinly-veiled statements and opinions as questions, sort of like asking "Is ANN7 a disgrace to South African television and sowing racial division or is it trying to do TV news?"

While M-Net was legitimately bad and deserves a lot of criticism for the racist job recruitment ad, ANN7 could have produced the segment a lot better in bringing real proper context to this issue of racial discrimination in the job seeking sector.

Instead ANN7's toxic talking heads format came across as worsening and inflaming existing racial divisions in South Africa - something that more than 12 500 DStv subscribers have already signed a petition over this year.

Also keep in mind that ANN7 used DStv's airwaves on Monday evening to do so.

DStv subscribers, whether they watch this hot mess or not, are still forced to pay for this type of badly done television.

The Monday evening trash piece was cringe-worthy to watch.

Let's review the ANN7 Prime segment that ANN7 did and the several problems with it, using the same "slanted question method" that ANN7 loves to employ.

"In its segment about M-Net's racist job recruitment ad looking for a "White, English" speaking person, was it wrong and bad for ANN7 to decided to use only one in-studio guest who is White and English speaking, to comment?"

"Does that one guest and several caller comments adequately frame the important issue and help viewers to understand the issue better?"

"Could ANN7's segment possibly have been better if it booked and used the admitted plagiarist Prof. Sipho Seepe that ANN7 often employs as a commentator on subjects? Where was he to tell the nation about M-Net on Monday night if he's used for a wide range of topics like the SABC?"

"Were interns on duty in the ANN7 control room, or why did ANN7 decide to leave out stuff again like the word 'been' that belongs between "not" and "revealed" in its screen card?"

"Why did ANN7 use the M-Net HD channel logo (and an old outdated one as well) that refers to a specific TV channel, when the issue is about M-Net the company and a broadcaster business?"

"Why did Sindy erroneously say that M-Net's 'got a recruiting agency, Kandhi Consulting, who then subsequently got a third party to do the project or the campaign' - when it's actually exactly the other way around?"

"Will ANN7 and Sindy perhaps again be forced to do an on-air apology by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission like it had to do last month?"

"Why does Sindy Mabe waste precious on-air time with sarcasm, saying things like 'such a lovely letter to reassure us that look, they couldn't make the time to come in studio, nonetheless that they took the effort to write a responding email to our questions?"

"Why does Sindy Mabe throw M-Net under the bus by asking about 'that lovely note, that the M-Net CEO is unable to even pick up the phone and engage us on this platform but they send out their carefully crafted PR statement' when ANN7 itself is terrible with responding to media enquiries and rarely respond to emails from the media?"

As a TV critic covering South Africa's TV industry, I feel that ANN7 wasted a golden opportunity to do a more nuanced exploration of a very serious issue.

ANN7 failed to actually advance the story and did a disservice to the country's TV biz and in general to South African pay-TV viewers.

ANN7 failed by not more adequately doing a proper and more representative segment on a very serious issue and a big mistake that could - and must - serve as an important talking point.

Fake news channel ANN7 on DStv slammed by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission; ordered to apologise to Derek Hanekom.

Again caught broadcasting fake news, the ANN7 (DStv 405) channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform has been forced to apologise to Derek Hanekom following a complaint regarding false and damaging allegations made on ANN7 that was upheld by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA).

ANN7 has been forced to apologise to South Africa's former minister of tourism, Derek Hanekom, who lodged a complaint after ANN7 broadcast false and defamatory statements about him during a panel discussion with Sindy Mabe on 11 August.

Bruce Mkhize, MultiChoice's regulatory compliance officer, Manti Seleka, MultiChoice's complaints and compliance officer, as well as Moegsien Williams, ANN7 consulting editor and Edwin Kagaswe, ANN7 asignment editor had to explain to the BCCSA why fake trash news was once again aired on ANN7.

It comes after Udo Froese falsely claimed that president Nelson Mandela in 1996 allegedly said that Derek Hanekom was an apartheid agent.

Derek Hanekom told the BCCSA that DStv "has contravened the BCCSA's Code of Conduct by allowing 'news' or comment to be broadcast on ANN7 that was untruthful and unfair".

Presenter Sindy Mabe did nothing to interject or take issue with Udo Froese's fake statements on ANN7.

MultiChoice and ANN7 told the BCCSA that it "unreservedly apologises to Derek Hanekom for the harm suffered and hereby unconditionally retract the comment by Udo Froese".

The apology and retraction was also ordered to be broadcast on ANN7 at the start of the 19:00 news bulletin on 29 and 30 September and in the bottom-third news scroll.

MultiChoice said it "also advised ANN 7 news anchors to, in future, intervene and probe further whenever a statement that is potentially harmful is stated as a fact by a studio guest".

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."

Sindy Mabe returns to TV news as the next new sole anchor for ANN7's ANN7 Prime on weeknights from Monday 21 March.

The revolving chair of main anchor at ANN7 (DStv 405) will be filled by Sindy Mabe from this coming Monday evening with the former breakfast show presenter who is the latest news reader to move into the prime time chair at the channel.

Sindy Mabe replaces senior anchor Peter van Onselen who expertly occupied the chair at ANN7 Prime for the past two and a half months at the Gupta owned TV news channel based in Midrand.

At the end of December 2015 Peter van Onselen stepped in to replace Sebenzile Nkambule as prime time anchor who quietly left, who in turn replaced Nzinga Qunta who quit.

In just the past year an ever-changing roster of names including Juliet Newell, Candy Harris, Gladys Sithole, Chante Jantjies, Nzinga Qunta, Sebenzile Nkambule and Peter van Onselen all sat in the ANN7 Prime chair since original anchor Chantal Rutter Dros quit the news channel in December 2014.

Now Sindy Mabe who abruptly disappeared from e.tv's Sunrise in July 2014 is resurfacing on television as the ANN7 Prime presentation that has seen several "relaunches" and changes over the past two years is once again undergoing a change.

She previously did stints at e.tv's Sunrise, SABC2's Morning Live Weekend and e.tv's Morning Edition and will be the latest sole ANN7 Prime anchor from Monday 21 March at 19:00.

"For me, joining the dynamic ANN7 team is a unique and exciting opportunity to expand my skills set, meet new friends and share in our mandate to provide viewers with credible, reliable and balanced quality programming," says Sindy Mabe.

"This is the start of an exciting chapter for ANN7," says Abhinav Sahay, ANN7 news editor about the latest prime time on-screen shuffle at the Infinity Media Networks news channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

"We feel that it will help build our success as a news channel. We are pleased to see Sindy join the team, we have an incredibly talented group of anchors and she will add value to this tremendous list."

ANN7 remains mired in 3rd place in the ratings race when it comes to local South African TV news channels with a paltry 10.66% of audience share in February on DStv, compared to eNCA (DStv 403) in the lead with 51.54% of total viewers, and the SABC's SABC News (DStv 404) channel at 20.37%.

Sunrise on e.tv adds Penny Lebyane as new anchor; doesn't say a word about Sindy Mabe suddenly being gone.

e.tv's breakfast show Sunrise is adding Penny Lebyane as new anchor, not saying a word about Sindy Mabe who quit or was fired from e.tv's morning show which continues to be a revolving door of changing on-air talent viewers can't get used to.

After SABC2's Motswako sank in the ratings following two disastrous timeslot changes, Penny Lebyane who was the talk show host on that programme is popping up as the new anchor on Sunrise - and suddenly from Monday 14 July.

Penny Lebyane says Sunrise will be her opportunity to learn and grow.

In a press release annoucing Penny Lebyane's sudden addition to Sunrise, e.tv doesn't mention a word about Sindy Mabe.

e.tv has so far not responded to a media enquiry made regarding her abrupt departure from Sunrise.

"We're very excited as a show to be acquiring the services of such a seasoned presenter like Penny Lebyane," says Nicholas Maphopha, Sunrise executive producer in a statement.

"Her passion and drive will keep discussions lively and energetic. Our overriding aim is to continue to improve our breakfast programme for our viewers," says Nicholas Maphopha.

"I have the ability to unpack and deliver all content in a manner that is relevant, inclusive and accessible to viewers. Sunrise will be my opportunity to learn, grow, and add value as a creative communicator and broadcaster," says Penny Lebyane in the statement.

BREAKING. Sindy Mabe gone from Sunrise as the next presenter on e.tv's morning breakfast show who suddenly exits the show.

Sindy Mabe is gone from e.tv's breakfast show Sunrise - the next presenter suddenly leaving the seemingly troubled weekday morning show on e.tv.

It's not clear whether Sindy Mabe quit or was fired from e.tv's Sunrise.

Penny Lebyane, previously the presenter of SABC2's Motswako, is suddenly starting as new Sunrise anchor from Monday14 July, e.tv tells TV with Thinus.

It's the second time Sindy Mabe has left e.tv's morning show. She co-anchored e.tv's Sunrise predecessor Morning Edition from 2003 to 2005 before quitting and jumping to SABC2's Weekend Live.

Sindy Mabe returned to Sunrise in April 2008.

e.tv's publicity department failed to communicate presenter changes and has been silent about Sindy Mabe's abrupt departure from Sunrise.

There's been no word and no announcement from e.tv about Sindy Mabe's sudden exit who has become the next person in a constant string of defections from Sunrise.

No replacement has been announced and there's been no goodbye announcement from Sindy Mabe.

Sunrise news reader Marc Chase and Walter Mokoena are anchoring in the meantime.

Is Ayanda Bandla the new permanent Sunrise co-presenter on e.tv in the mornings or a temporary stand-in?

Is Ayanda Bandla the new permanent Sunrise co-presenter next to Sindy Mabe on e.tv or merely a temporary stand-in until the morning show can find a new co-host?

e.tv hasn't said a word about Sunrise's new co-host appointment or Ayanda Bandla although viewers are seeing the former reality TV star now co-anchoring the morning show since Sunrise returned after its Christmas and New Year's hiatus.

TV with Thinus broke the news in December that Sunrise co-host Stacey Holland had suddenly resigned without any public explanation.

It left Sunrise producers scrambling to try and find a replacement on short notice at the end of the year, urgently looking for a suitable replacement with not much time before 2012 ran out.

Now Ayanda Bandla is standing next to morning show veteran Sindy Mabe but e.tv hasn't said anything since Ayanda Bandla popped up when Sunrise resumed in 2013.

Ayanda Bandla is best known as a reality television personality, she was one of the contestants on SABC1's reality competition One Day Leader in 2011.

UPDATE 18:00 - e.tv tells me that Ayanda Bandla is a temporary, substitute replacement for Stacey Holland while Sunrise is finalising the search for a new permanent presenter.

TOLDJA! Sunrise on e.tv debuts a new on-air look with new logo and a new remixed opening theme song.

Sunrise, e.tv's weekday breakfast show, debuted a new spruced up opening theme exactly in line with how TV with Thinus broke the news first on Thursday last week RIGHT HERE which includes a new logo and a remixed version of the theme song.

The Sunrise set didn't change, although the new logo also necessitated new intertiles and banner boards for business, weather and announcements. The new Sunrise logo and look embodies more prism colours, bringing in some red and green tones - the previous logo background was all-yellow.

An extremely fake-looking, mustard-coloured flat rectangular screen was suddenly superimposed on the Sunrise set's middle column - a fake flat screen TV planel in essence - which is seriously detracting from the show's look.

"A new look Sunrise and this is all for your viewing pleasure," said Sunrise co-host Sindy Mabe. "Fresh and clean," said co-host Stacey Holland.

"That's what we're trying to do. We're always trying to evolve and transform and make sure that we're keeping up with the times," says Stacey Holland.

"The brand tweak will ensure that the show stays fresh, current and pacey," says Nicholas Maphopha, Sunrise's executive producer. "The show will remain an awesome viewing experience for South Africans who will continue to enjoy a reverting mix of politics, sport, business, health, weather, traffic and entertainment news."

The Sunrise refresh marks the celebration of the 4th year of the morning show which started on 31 March 2008 on e.tv. Competitor Morning Live on SABC2 changed its on-air logo, theme and set in July.