The ANC this week summoned SABC executives to the party's headquarters at Luthuli House in Johannesburg to haul them over the coals for what party bosses claim is political bias.
The move has sparked strong criticism from several civil society organisations, which have condemned party interference in what is meant to be an apolitical public broadcaster.
The meeting took place in Johannesburg on Monday amid claims by the ANC top brass that the national broadcaster was favouring the Shikota party, formed by Mosiuoa Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa.
But several organisations, including the Freedom of Expression Institute, the Save the SABC Coalition, the Media Monitoring Project and the Media Institute of South Africa, have condemned what they see as political interference by the ANC, saying it harked back to the days when the SABC was a propaganda tool of the National Party.
Duarte denied claims that the ANC was becoming like the National Party when it used the SABC as a propaganda tool.
"We are not friends with the SABC, but we called the meeting, as all political parties do, to express our concern over the issues that bother us from time to time.
"The ANC is, after all, the ruling party."
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