Motsoeneng laughs off SABC inquiry
• Motsoeneng unfazed by SABC inquiry into governance lapses
Former SABC executive Hlaudi Motsoeneng has laughed off the inquiry into the crisis at the public broadcaster. The ad hoc committee looking into the governance lapses at the SABC concluded its final report on Friday, in which it made damning observations about the sources of the rot at the public broadcaster.
Former SABC executive Hlaudi Motsoeneng has laughed off the inquiry into the crisis at the public broadcaster.
On Friday, the ad hoc committee looking into governance lapses at the SABC concluded its final report in which it made damning observations about the sources of the rot.
Motsoeneng and Communications Minister Faith Muthambi were identified during the public hearings process as contributors to the mess.
The final report is to be tabled in the National Assembly on Tuesday. One of its recommendations is that President Jacob Zuma reconsider Muthambi’s desirability in the Cabinet. The report does not make pronouncements on what should happen to Motsoeneng.
Also on Tuesday, the portfolio committee on communications will discuss the appointment of an interim board.
Motsoeneng told Business Day he had not read the final report, but said he had been laughing after the committee finished its work. “I have been laughing … I have been watching it, but I am cool .... I will be able to comment further after going through the report,” he said.
In a written submission to the committee, Motsoeneng’s lawyer said his client felt prejudiced because he had not been invited to testify.
Motsoeneng said: “Wherever I go, South Africans are asking why I wasn’t called to testify.”
Witnesses alleged in December that Muthambi had strongarmed the SABC board into supporting the appointment of Motsoeneng in 2014, despite a report by the public protector that found he had fabricated a matric qualification, purged staff who disagreed with him and increased his salary irregularly, from R1.5m to R2.4m in a year.
The public protector recommended that he be disciplined, but the SABC went on to confirm his appointment as chief operating officer.
The High Court in Cape Town ruled in December that Motsoeneng should not occupy any position at the SABC until the public protector’s report was set aside, or new disciplinary processes against him finalised.
The DA had been pushing to have the committee’s final report explicitly recommend that Muthambi be removed. The party also wanted the public protector to investigate the minister for allegedly violating the Executive Members’ Ethics Act.
Although ANC MPs agreed that Muthambi’s alleged role in the crisis at the broadcaster constituted a serious breach of the ethics code, they argued it was not for the ad hoc committee to recommend that she be sacked.
They said the matter should be referred to the ethics committee for further investigation and, thereafter, Zuma should decide the minister’s fate.
Members of the committee suggested that Muthambi might have violated the Constitution by acting in a way that improperly benefited Motsoeneng.
Muthambi had interfered in SABC board matters and undermined the Broadcasting Act, according to the final report.
The minister’s spokesman had not responded by the time of publication on Monday.
The report also calls for acting SABC CEO James Aguma to be disciplined for defying Parliament. The SABC refused to hand some crucial documents to the committee in December, saying the information was sensitive. SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said: “We will await the final outcome of the parliamentary processes.”
Media Monitoring Africa director William Bird said: “The minister has been an unmitigated disaster.”
I HAVE BEEN LAUGHING … BUT I AM COOL … I WILL BE ABLE TO COMMENT AFTER GOING THROUGH THE REPORT