Parliament holds back on SABC
PARLIAMENT has refused to budge after civil society yesterday called for the dissolution of the SABC board for failing in its fiduciary duties.
This comes after the latest scandal in which SABC strongman Hlaudi Motsoeneng has been paid a bonus of R11.4 million for selling the archives of the public broadcaster. The full bonus to be paid to Motsoeneng for brokering the deal, according to a weekend newspaper, is R33 million which will be paid over three years.
Yesterday civil society called for Parliament to dissolve the board for failing in its fiduciary duties and running the SABC in to the ground.
Motsoeneng has refused to go despite losing his appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal, which ruled that his appointment was irrational and unlawful.
Chairman of the portfolio committee on communications Humphrey Maxegwana said they would not dissolve the SABC board at the whim of civil society.
The committee will ask the board to appear before MPs next month to address some of the issues in the public domain, including the R11.4 million bonus to Motsoeneng. Once the SABC board had given the committee a report on these matters a decision would be taken, said Maxegwana. But the SABC scandal has angered the Save Our SABC Coalition and Media Monitoring Africa. Co-ordinator for the Save Our SABC Coalition Sekoetlane Phamodi said yesterday the situation at the SABC required political leadership.
“If we had a portfolio committee that was principled to ensure there is proper oversight it would have established, even last month, an inquiry,” he said. “The bonus was authorised by the sub-committee of the board, which is irregular and against the Public Finance Management Act.”
Phamodi said they hoped the public protector would widen her investigation into Motsoeneng and include the latest payment of R11.4 million.
The SABC sold its archives to Multichoice for R500 million.
“We need to get rid of this board. It has gone too far with its delinquent behaviour,” he said.
He said the R11.4 million paid to Motsoeneng and the upcoming R33 million payment was outright looting of the SABC.
William Bird of Media Monitoring Africa said this was unacceptable.
“Fundamentally, everyone should be incredibly angry with the SABC board for the way they have behaved,” said Bird.
“We need to be holding Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications to account because if they had done their job we wouldn’t be in this position,” he said.
“What needs to happen is that you need to get a new board, change parts of the Broadcasting Act, you need a portfolio committee that starts to do its job, you also need a regulator that starts to do its job,” he said.
SABC spokesman, Kaizer Kganyago, said they would not discuss issues of the board. This was in reference to the bonus of R11.4 million to Motsoeneng.
He also declined to comment on calls by civil society for the dissolution of the board.
“We cannot comment on that issue because the board is not appointed by the SABC,” he said.
Maxegwana said the committee would raise issues with the board when it appeared before MPs on October 11.
Entities falling under the portfolio committee would be tabling their reports.
THE DA had instructed its legal team to take the SABC’s reappointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as “acting” chief operations officer (COO) back to court, the party said yesterday.
“We have been left with no other option following the deplorable decision taken by the SABC to undermine the Western Cape High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal,” DA federal executive chairman James Selfe said.
The decision to reappoint Motsoeneng in an “acting” capacity was a slap in the face of the rule of law and a desperate attempt to allow the “Hlaudi Motsoeneng wrecking ball to continue his disastrous reign at the public broadcaster”, he said.
Media reports had revealed that Motsoeneng had received a R11.4 million bonus, only one chunk of an expected R33 million payout over the next three years.
“This was nothing more than SABC-endorsed plunder of its own resources to the benefit of just one man,” Selfe said.
“This madness needs to be stopped. Our precious public resources should be spent on building a reputable, fair, and well-run public broadcaster, and not on the propping up of its single greatest impediment.
“The DA remains committed to ensuring that the rule of law and the decisions of our courts are respected.
“We will not allow for our constitution to be trampled over and a key institution of state destroyed.”
Last week, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed with costs Motsoeneng’s application for leave to appeal against a ruling by the Cape Town High Court in setting aside his permanent appointment as SABC COO.
In May, the Cape Town High Court also dismissed with costs Motsoeneng and the SABC’s application for leave to appeal against the ruling.
The ANC Youth League has given the SABC board and its management an ultimatum to endorse the appointment of Motsoeneng as its “chief operating officer” or face their wrath. – ANA and Baldwin Ndaba