Only court can halt Tshabalala’s inquiry

A SHOWDOWN is looming between Parliament and the chairwoman of the SABC board, Zandile Ellen Tshabalala, over the inquiry into her qualifications scheduled for Wednesday.

While chairwoman of the portfolio committee on communications Joyce Moloi-Moropa insisted yesterday that the inquiry would go ahead as planned, Tshabalala told the committee that she would appeal against the court judgment into the inquiry.

The court ruled on November 12 that the inquiry should go ahead.

Moloi-Moropa confirmed to The Star yesterday that Tshabalala had written to them that she intended appealing.

However, the committee would continue with the inquiry unless it got a court order to halt the proceedings.

“The last time we were stopped by the court. So we can’t be stopped unless we are ordered by the court to do so,” said Moloi-Moropa.

“We will call all the witnesses and the chairperson of the SABC board,” she said.

Tshabalala could not be reached for comment yesterday. She did not respond to text messages.

But Moloi-Moropa said a Unisa official and Tshabalala among the witnesses.

She said the SABC board chairwoman could have a legal representative at the inquiry.

Meanwhile, the DA has accused SABC acting chief executive and chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng of threatening it.

This was after Motsoeneng wrote to the party after it made public a letter written by Tshabalala to him, extending his term as acting chief executive.

DA MP and spokesman on communications Gavin Davis said yesterday in the letter that Motsoeneng accused the DA of stealing internal documents.

But SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago denied that Motsoeneng had threatened the DA.

Davis said Motsoeneng must stop bullying them.

“Motsoeneng’s letter accuses the DA of illegally obtaining confidential SABC documents and ‘condoning the misconduct by some SABC employees who continue to steal information from the SABC’. He argues that this is compromising ‘the operations and successful running of the SABC’,” said Davis.

But Kganyago said the document was stolen from the public broadcaster, and the DA could not claim that Motsoeneng was threatening it.

He said he was on public record that the DA appeared to be obsessed with Motsoeneng.

“It is common knowledge that this delegation of authority they are talking about is not a public document. It is the property of the SABC.

“The document that they gave to the newspapers is an internal document taken from the SABC, illegally so,” said Kganyago.

He said Motsoeneng had not been appointed permanent chief executive of the SABC.

He was given the powers of the chief executive, and remained the SABC chief operations officer, said Kganyago.

The SABC’s acting chief executive was correct to caution the DA for making public internal documents of the SABC, he said.

The memo was meant for the SABC and no other outside parties.