State interest not public’s
FORMER acting SABC group chief executive officer Jimi Matthews has spoken out.
Following his very public resignation where he spoke of a “corrosive atmosphere” at the public broadcaster characterised by fear, he has made further revelations.
According to Matthews, Hlaudi Motsoeneng is a law unto himself. He has corroborated numerous media reports that Motsoeneng takes decisions unilaterally and uses the threat to employees’ livelihoods to compel them to toe the line.
Motsoeneng has full control of the SABC.
But how does the chief operating officer run roughshod over the CEO? The SABC organogram makes it clear the buck stops with the Group CEO.
Jimi Matthews is therefore not only complicit in the censorship, the restrictive editorial policies, the suspensions and intolerance to dissenting views, he must take full responsibility because he signed off on all of that.
But why? Matthews conceded in weekend reports that his being CEO was futile because all “real decisions” at the SABC are made by the COO and he had to rubber stamp.
Motsoeneng is emboldened by the political support he enjoys.
It is no secret that he is an ally of President Jacob Zuma and that Minister of Communications Faith Muthambi has full confidence in him.
His editorial decision not to broadcast protests against the state has everything to do with protecting the image of the Zuma administration.
It’s about showing President Zuma, his cabinet and the government in its entirety in a good light even when it means deceiving viewers.
It is no longer a secret that Motsoeneng has gradually transformed the SABC from a public broadcaster to a state broadcaster.
He has imported the false belief of the ruling party that it embodies the desires and interests of all the people. And so Motsoeneng is pushing the lie that the state interest is synonymous to the public interest.
He has turned the mandate of the public broadcaster on its head.
Under his stewardship, the SABC is no longer at the service of citizens, culture and democracy but at the service of governing party politicians.
Clearly this is not good for the SABC, for citizens and for SA’s democracy.
Would the SABC be better off without Hlaudi Motsoeneng? The answer is a resounding YES. It’s now Motsoeneng’s turn to do the right thing.