Scopa calls on SABC staff to support SIU probe

THE Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has called on staff at the SABC to co-operate with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation at the public broadcaster.

Scopa chairperson Themba Godi made the call yesterday after he met with interim chairperson of the SABC board, Khanyisile Kweyama, and SIU officials after the latter began their investigations.

The probe into the SABC began after President Jacob Zuma issued a proclamation for the unit to investigate and yesterday.

Godi said he wanted the unit to leave no stone unturned and dig into the rot at the public broadcaster, following the public protector’s damning reports and the ad hoc committee in Parliament.

“I had a meeting with the interim SABC board chairperson and a team from the SIU. The chairperson of the SABC interim board is going to write letters to staff that are going to show why the SIU is there and that they are obligated, by the law, to be there,” said Godi.

He said he also met with the staff at the SABC who expressed full support for the presence of the SIU to investigate wrongdoing.

Godi said the staff had full confidence in the work of the SIU and believes the unit will be able to get to the bottom of the problems at the SABC.

He added that while the investigation has no set deadline, the SIU wanted to fasttrack the investigation. In his meeting with the unit, officials were keen to finish the investigation as soon as possible.

He said the investigation should have started earlier, after their meeting with staff at the SABC in March this year.

The SIU had told Scopa at the time they wanted the probe to begin in August.

However, there was a delay in getting the proclamation by the president. Godi believes that despite these problems, the unit will complete the investigation quickly.

The SABC has been beset with problems for years and allegations of corruption, amounting to millions of rand. In the last five years the public broadcaster has suffered massive financial losses.

The SABC is expected to incur a loss of more than R1 billion for the 2016/17 financial year.

Scopa had earlier this year also questioned the SABC, for irregular expenditure of R5.1bn in the last five years. This resulted in some irregular contracts, awarded to certain companies, being scrapped by the SABC.

Godi said this was part of the job to clean up the SABC and get it back on track.