You may recall the recent courageous coverage of mismanagement, corruption and fraud in the provincial Department of Agriculture by the Sunday Tribune. Some time ago I complimented the Sunday Tribune reporters in Parliament on their feat in the face of threats from the provincial government to withdraw government advertising from their newspaper.

The Speaker, in likely contravention of parliamentary rules, created a speaking slot for the Premier who was thus allowed to respond to me immediately. The Premier famously dismissed my statement as an "outrageous and despicable lie" and "a pathetic attempt to get cheap publicity".

The IFP originally obtained the information about the government threats from a source inside the Independent Newspapers Group. We were determined to protect the identity of the source at all cost. This undoubtedly encouraged the ruling party to trigger disciplinary action against me for allegedly misleading Parliament.

Last week the IFP acquired extraordinary proof of this very statement in the form of a text message sent on 26 November 2006 from the then Director-General in the Office of the Premier, Professor Mandla Mchunu, to all Heads of Department across the provincial government.

The SMS read: "The Premier has directed that govt. departments and provincial public entities should not place their adverts and public announcements in the Tribune newspaper. Thanks. DG".

The text message exposes the Premier as the one who misled not only Parliament but the people of KwaZulu Natal when the story attracted wide-ranging public interest. The IFP is content to conclude what we have known all along - that the disciplinary action taken against me was a scam intended to intimidate the Official Opposition into complacence and inaction.

Even more worrying is the Premier's readiness to pursue falsehood to such great lengths. It raises the important question whether he has the integrity to lead the province. For if the Premier can lie about his own directive to his subordinates, we are compelled to ask: what else does he lie about?

Dr Lionel Mtshali MPP
Leader of the Official Opposition

Contact: Dr Lionel Mtshali, 083 256 4902