Minister’s ‘silence’ on SABC board angers committee
Opposition parties push for recommendations in interim report
COMMUNICATIONS Minister Faith Muthambi has drawn the ire of MPs after they accused her of failing to rein in the SABC board when it floundered.
The SABC lurched from one crisis to the next as the board was involved in infighting. In drafting its interim report yesterday, the ad hoc committee on the SABC said the lack of intervention by the minister over the board left a lot of questions.
The report has been sent to Muthambi and for mer board chairpersons Ben Ngubane and Ellen Tshabalala for them to respond to the allegations made against them. Other affected parties will also receive the draft report.
However, MPs said Muthambi should have been firm with the SABC board. According to them, Muthambi was silent on important matters facing the board.
EFF MP Fana Mokoena said Muthambi also refused to answer certain questions when she appeared before the committee to give evidence. “She was silent. We did not receive evidence that she did something. She was silent,” said Mokoena.
ANC MP Juli Kilian said the SAC board had treated Parliament with contempt.
Its actions to walk out of a meeting of the committee was a blatant disregard for Parliament, and Muthambi should have acted, she said.
Mokoena described the board as rebellious, and said action had to be taken at the executive level.
Opposition parties also attacked the ANC for backtracking on its decision to include recommendations in the draft report.
The DA said ANC members in the committee changed their position after they received instructions from Luthuli House.
DA MP Mike Waters said this could not be the end of the matter.
The official opposition had argued that the recommendations be included in the draft report.
Lawyers for Parliament, however, said this would prejudge the matter against those implicated in the report.
The DA, EFF, IFP and NFP said they were concerned about the fact that the decision to exclude recommendations was political.
Phumzile van Damme, of the DA, said the ANC MPs got instructions from Luthuli House. She also accused lawyers from Parliament of colluding with the ANC.
ANC MP Juli Kilian denied they received instructions from Luthuli House to exclude recommendations in the report.
“I must admit that I threw the cat among pigeons yesterday (Thursday). I had no instruction from anywhere. I was considering the position of the committee that at what point do you stop the consultation process?” said Kilian.
Another ANC MP, Makhosi Khoza, accused the DA of wanting to take credit for everything done by the committee.
“Let me say to those who suffer from the Luthuli House post-traumatic stress syndrome (that) we are not controlled by anyone. We are independent thinkers,” she said, also accusing the DA of being divisive and wanting to impress certain people.
ANC MP Hlomane Chauke also accused the DA of throwing out its toys by walking out of the meeting before MPs had voted on the draft report.