Zuma accepts SABC chairman’s resignation

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma said yest he had received‚ and accepted‚ the resignation of South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) chairman Professor Mbulaheni Obert Maguvhe.

“The president has thanked Professor Maguvhe for his services during his tenure at the SABC and wished him all the best for his future endeavours‚” read a statement from the presidency.

Maguvhe‚ until now the sole remaining member of the board‚ last week defended the board’s decision to appoint the broadcaster’s former chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng‚ at a sitting of the parliamentary committee which is currently conducting an inquiry into the board’s fitness.

When pressed on why the board took the decision to appoint Motsoeneng despite former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s findings and recommendations‚ Maguvhe said the board was not aware that those recommendations were binding.

“It was only after the Constitutional Court ruling that they mentioned that they were binding‚” he said.

Madonsela found that Motsoeneng had lied about his matric qualification‚ had increased his salary irregularly from R1.5-million to R2.4-million and had purged employees.

She ruled that a replacement for Motsoeneng should be found within 90 days. But Minister of Communications Faith Muthambi appointed him permanent COO. — TMG Digital