So Many Questions
New Communications Minister Ayanda Dlodlo has inherited an SABC that is in a state of collapse, financially and otherwise. Chris Barron asked her . . .
What kind of SABC do you want to see? One that delivers to South Africans great content, that is well managed and a high performer in the sector of media and communications.
Talking of content, how will you manage the relationship between the SABC and MultiChoice? To be honest, I’m not even sure what the relationship is.
Well, for a start, MultiChoice has all the SABC’s archives. Responding off the top of my head, without having any information on how this decision was taken in the first instance, from where I sit the archives of the SABC are the archives of the South African nation. My gut response is that I cannot understand how we could hand over the archives of a national asset to a private entity.
Which is also your chief competitor. The terms and arrangements of that deal I am not sure of. But on the face of it I don’t see how it makes sense. I really don’t.
Do you intend undoing this deal? I would first have to see what the terms and conditions of that are. If the archives were sold to them, would I have the money to undo such a deal?
Is this something you’re going to prioritise? For now the most important thing for me is to deal with HR and labour issues at the SABC, and to deal with the financial situation at the SABC.
What is your position on Hlaudi Motsoeneng? I don’t have one. I have left that to the board. There is still a disciplinary inquiry coming and I don’t want to be seen to have taken a position on the matter, whether it is for or against the particular individual.
Will you ensure then that the process is independent? That the presiding officer is independent and the prosecutor is independently appointed? That’s what usually happens in entities, I’d guess. And the board should ensure that there is fairness in the process.
Who is going to pay for all the litigation costs incurred by Motsoeneng? I think the SABC is going to have to pay, because he still is an employee. But the Public Finance Management Act is very clear on issues of mismanagement and recklessness with finances and stuff like that. If the board wishes to invoke the provision of legislation to make people pay back for their own recklessness, incompetence or whatever, then people will have to pay back the money that would have been lost because of their recklessness.
Will you leave that in the hands of the board? Well, the board will have to report back to me on how it intends to handle the matter. If I’m not mistaken, I am the final arbiter in terms of oversight of the work of the board as well as of executives of the SABC.
Are you going to withdraw the Broadcasting Amendment Bill? I don’t know. I haven’t gone through the bill. I’ve been asking for a copy and I’m still waiting. Because people are talking about different versions of that bill.
As I understand, it, the bill hands control of the SABC to the minister rather than the board or parliament. Is that your position? Ultimately, the minister is responsible for how the SABC is run. The board exercises its fiduciary responsibilities over matters of the broadcaster, the minister being the ultimate responsible authority over the working of the SABC.
Should the board be accountable to you or to parliament? I think both, in the sense that right now this is an interim board. There are issues that I have helped them to look into. One of the things that still boggles my mind is how parliament could have established an interim board knowing what the financial problems at the SABC are, without bringing on board a financial person.
Should your predecessor be held accountable for the financial collapse of the SABC? That would be the responsibility of parliament and the president.
Would you like to see the board institute an investigation into her role? I don’t know if the board would have the authority to investigate the minister. Its responsibility would be to investigate transgressions within the SABC. If, at the end of the day, the minister is responsible for those transgressions, then the matter should be escalated to parliament or the president.
Should the board institute a forensic investigation into irregularly awarded contracts? I have asked the board to look at the extent to which we are in trouble, and to determine why it is that we are in the state in which we are. If that then warrants an investigation, then so be it.
Will you encourage steps to be taken against former board members and current and former executives found complicit in incurring wasteful expenditure? Yes.
Should the board defer to you as minister in the matter of senior executive appointments? I think the board and minister should have a say.
Who should have the final say? I think the final say is with the board. But there has to be consultation with the minister.