MPs blame state security for delay in choosing SABC board
Parliament has blamed the State Security Agency (SSA) for the delay in appointing a new SABC board to replace the outgoing directors whose terms end in less than a week.
The spy agency has allegedly been slow to complete the vetting of candidates, but the SSA insists its vetting systems are working well and cannot be blamed for delays.
It said it cannot disclose who it is vetting and declined to be drawn on whether it was stalling on the SABC appointments.
On September 27, the communications & digital technologies subcommittee that is running the recruitment process for the board was told candidates who had been interviewed by MPs last month had yet to be vetted because the SSA’s vetting system was not operational.
“They indicated they have a problem with their system. Currently they don’t have a system that is working but they are trying their best to request assistance from other offices. As soon as they have feedback on security checks, they will revert to us,” said the committee’s administrator at the time.
The subcommittee meeting had been convened to recommend new board members for adoption at a sitting of the National Assembly on September 29.
The incumbent board’s term ends on Saturday.
At that meeting, committee chair Boyce Maneli expressed concern at the vetting delay, saying the committee might need to “use other avenues to put more pressure on those who are responsible in assisting the SSA”.
“We really need them to move quicker on the basic vetting that needs to be done. We don’t want to make recommendations only to find people will not pass basic vetting,” he said.
Maneli indicated the committee would even meet during the recess because “we do not want interim arrangements, we want a board that can get a proper handover from the existing board in a way that ensures smooth transition”.
He told the Sunday Times this week there had been no movement and the SSA was “stalling” the process.
“The problem is that the SSA had difficulties in terms of providing vetting and the committee is unable to move forward without the vetting.”
SSA spokesperson Mava Scott said because vetting was an operational matter, the agency was not at liberty to discuss it with third parties.
“We cannot comment on the details of who we are vetting or not vetting, save to say our vetting systems are in place and are working in terms of what is required in terms of legislation and our mandate,” he said.
But a public broadcasting lobby group, the SOS Coalition, blamed the portfolio committee for the delay.
“The committee is to blame because it knew five years ago when the term would end,” said SOS co-ordinator Uyanda Siyotula. SOS wrote to Maneli’s subcommittee in June, asking why the recruitment process was apparently yet to begin.
“We wrote to them asking why they were quiet about the call for public nominations, because this is a process that has to be dealt with well in advance, but they waited until the last minute,” Siyotula said.
“If everything had been done on time, they would not be pressed for time now. They’ve failed the country.”
She said an SABC that was struggling with finances and other issues could not afford to operate without a board.
The law does not provide for the extension of an SABC board’s term and an interim board can only be appointed after the dissolution of an existing board.
The committee is to blame because it knew five years ago when the term would end
Uyanda Siyotula
SOS Coalition co-ordinator