Zuma accepts resignation of SABC chairman

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma said yesterday he has received‚ and accepted‚ the resignation of 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‚” a statement from the Presidency read.

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 conducting an inquiry into the board’s fitness.

Asked why the board decided to appoint Motsoeneng despite former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s recommendations‚ Maguvhe said the board was not aware that those recommendations were binding until the Constitutional Court ruled so.

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 in July 2014 Communications Minister Faith Muthambi appointed him permanent chief operating officer.

The parliamentary committee is due to present its report on February 28. – TMG Digital

Picture: AFP FINAL BRIEFING: African Union (AU) chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma addresses the State of the Continent Media Briefing for the last time in the chair of the AU Commission to conclude her-four year tenure in Durban yesterday