Muthambi misled SABC probe, says MP
COMMUNICATIONS Minister Faith Muthambi has been accused of misleading a parliamentary inquiry into the crisis at the SABC.
Muthambi appeared before the inquiry on Wednesday and denied that she had ever interfered in board matters or that she bullied the board into appointing Hlaudi Motsoeneng as permanent chief operating officer in 2014.
The Broadcasting Act prevented her from interfering in board matters‚ the minister said.
“I have a strong feeling the minister misled us and misrepresented a lot of facts‚ and I think we will have to take action when the time comes‚” ANC MP Makhosi Khoza said.
She is a member of the parliamentary ad hoc committee looking into the crisis at the public broadcaster.
ACDP MP Steve Swart‚ also a member of the committee‚ said evidence suggested Muthambi had interfered in board affairs and played a big role in the appointment of Motsoeneng.
Some committee members also felt that board meeting minutes presented by the SABC to the committee earlier may have been doctored.
The members were reacting to testimony from former board member Rachel Kalidass.
She told the inquiry yesterday that Muthambi “was too close to the action”.
Kalidass presented minutes of a late-night board meeting which revealed that Muthambi had featured strongly in the decision to appoint Motsoeneng.
She said the minister had made it clear to the board during a late-night meeting in 2014 that Motsoeneng deserved to be appointed as he had acted in the position for too long.
Motsoeneng was appointed in 2014 despite a report by the public protector that found he had fabricated a matric qualification‚ purged those he disagreed with and irregularly increased his salary from R1.5-million to R2.4-million in one year.
The public protector recommended that he be disciplined.
Kalidass said Muthambi and the board chairwoman at the time‚ Zandile Tshabalala‚ had referred to a legal opinion from Mchunu Attorneys that found Motsoeneng was not guilty of any wrongdoing.
“We were just told that Mchunu Attorneys had been appointed as advisers‚ but there was no board resolution [on the sourcing of a legal opinion or appointing the attorneys],” she said.
Kalidass said the board was divided on the resolution to appoint Motsoeneng.
In addition to the public protector report being ignored‚ she said concerns were raised that normal recruitment processes were not followed.
Kalidass said most of the members who opposed the appointment of Motsoeneng were later purged.
She and two other board members‚ Ronnie Lubisi and Hope Zinde‚ were axed last year.
Kalidass said Motsoeneng’s behaviour had become more brazen and “emboldened” after Muthambi became communications minister.
The inquiry will continue next month. – BusinessLIVE