Dead Gogos are still getting grants – MPs – Time of Swaziland

Description
The article highlights a Portfolio Committee debate about dead people who are still being considered for government grants.

Analysis
The article highlights the participation of female political leaders in a ministry’s portfolio committee debates as well as corruption by officials who administer government funds. Through the language it uses, the article denotes subtle stereotypes. There is an unstated assumption that only old women receive government grants.

Headline
The headline “Dead gogos are still getting grants-MPsÀ is deceiving and portrays women in a negative picture.

Sources
There are three sources in the story and two of them are female politicians. The female sources provoke the issue of grants and their contributions lead to the deputy prime minister committing to looking into the issue.

Language
Gogos is a word used to refer to old women. However, the story is talking about elderly people including men. The headline reflects a subtle stereotype whereby it is assumed that it is mostly women who receive grants. Thus women in this instance are presented as helpless and in need of government assistance. On the other hand, one can conclude that women are in this instance presented as the main victims of criminal activities.

Visual images
The image of the Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku is used.

Story angle and perspective
Even though the article has three sources, of which two are women, the headline has done severe damage to the story. The perspective raises the issue that women are the main victims of criminal activities. The report can be praised for directly quoting two female parliamentarians who are given a platform to give their views around the grants issue. Thus we see women positively contributing to corruption debates and openly questioning the system. However, the unbalanced number of sources conveys the idea that women are more concerned about financial support from the government than men.

Placement or positioning
The story is on the top left corner of the page and has an image of a Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku, thus giving the story some prominence.