Justice serves us
AFTER months of seeming arrogance on the part of the SABC board and the public broadcaster’s chief operating officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the Supreme Court of Appeal yesterday dismissed Motsoeneng’s appeal against part of a high court judgment that he be suspended pending a disciplinary inquiry against him.
Also important, or perhaps more important in the long term, was that the SCA rejected part of the Western Cape High Court ruling which indicated that rulings of the Public Protector’s office were not binding in the same way, say, as a court order. The meaning and consequences of a Public Protector report have, for instance, been highly controversial in the Nkandla saga.
So while there’s nowhere further for Motsoeneng to run for the moment, as the SCA has ruled that the SABC must, at last, institute disciplinary proceedings against its COO while he is under interim suspension, the SCA’s ruling also confirms the constitution with regard to Chapter 9 institutions.
Thuli Madonsela’s report of February last year advocated that Motsoeneng be disciplined. Now, not only must that happen, but that ruling resets the pace on her recommendations in general. The handling of the Nkandla matter indicated that, at times, the government may institute a parallel process to that put forward by especially the Public Protector. After this judgment, it is unlikely that such processes will be tolerated in another court.
Hence, we applaud the judgment of the SCA in this regard, as well as its judgment on Motsoeneng, who has long been a thorn in the side of the government’s own desire to drive recruitment processes that are in line with the highest levels of governance.
Not only did the Public Protector’s report indicate that Motsoeneng misrepresented his matric certificate, he is also understood to be vastly underqualified for the job of a COO, not only at the SABC, but in any parastatal or, indeed, in the most competitive arenas of the private sector. Bearing his lack of credentials in mind, Madonsela found his appointment irregular and recommended he be replaced. It feels like a good week for justice.