Draft of SABC report counsels Zuma to fire Faith Muthambi
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma should consider firing Communications Minister Faith Muthambi for her role in the meltdown at the SABC, and the inspector-general of intelligence must investigate the broadcaster for setting spooks on its employees.
These are some of the key recommendations in a hardhitting draft of the final report by the parliamentary ad hoc committee that conducted an inquiry into mismanagement at the SABC.
The report, which has been seen by the Sunday Times, says Muthambi “displayed incompetence in carrying out her responsibility as shareholder representative”, including by appointing Hlaudi Motsoeneng as permanent chief operating officer after the public protector ruled against him.
Muthambi “interfered in some of the board’s decisionmaking” and irregularly amended the broadcaster’s memorandum of incorporation to “centralise power in the ministry”, the draft report says.
Any violations of the constitution, the executive code of ethics and the Broadcasting Act should be reported to “the ethics committee and/or the Presidency”, which could result in charges being brought against Muthambi.
“The president should seriously reconsider the desirability of this particular minister retaining the communications portfolio,” the report says.
Findings of the inspectorgeneral of intelligence investigation “to establish whether the SSA [State Security Agency] had in fact been involved in unlawful monitoring of SABC employees” should be reported to the minister of intelligence and parliament, and disciplinary action taken against those responsible, it says.
Witnesses who misled the inquiry or provided false information must be investigated for possible criminal charges.
Former board chairman Mbulaheni Maguvhe must be made to pay back all legal fees incurred as a result of his failed court bid to interdict the inquiry, and a new interim board must be appointed by parliament to take disciplinary steps against acting CEO James Aguma.
Lawyers who advised the SABC to withhold documents requested by the inquiry should be reported to the law society.
To restore public confidence in the SABC’s “reporting on current affairs”, a new editorial policy must be drawn up with public participation and parliamentary oversight.
The new interim board must audit all orders in the past three years from the courts, public protector, auditor-general and communications watchdog Icasa to ensure compliance, and parliamentary oversight must be beefed up.
The report concludes that mismanagement by the board and executive led to plummeting cash reserves and increasing losses.
“Deteriorating financial management [has] impacted negatively on [the SABC’s] sustainability,” the report says. “The corporation may be at risk of becoming technically insolvent.”
SABC inquiry ad hoc committee chairman Vincent Smith yesterday told the Sunday Times that the report ‘FIRE HER’: Communications Minister Faith Muthambi would become binding once it was tabled in parliament.
He said all committee members were given the final draft of the report yesterday to go through and submit their final changes or ‘DISCIPLINE HIM’: James Aguma comments, if there are any, before 10am tomorrow.
“We are expecting to submit it to parliament before the end of business on Monday. Parliament will then decide when the report is going to be formally adopted, tabled and debated in the National Assembly,” he said.
Smith said the rest of South Africa would have access to the report once it had been tabled in parliament.
❛ Minister ’displayed incompetence in carrying out her responsibility’