DA welcomes ANC’s support of SABC inquiry

“The inquiry is vital for the survival of the SABC and the restoration of trust between the public broadcaster and the people of South Africa,” DA MP Phumzile van Damme said in a statement.

“It has become patently clear that the board of the SABC only serves to further the interests of the ANC, the Communications Minister, Faith Muthambi, and Hlaudi Motsoeneng, and is not dedicated – as required by the Broadcasting Act – to fairness, freedom of expression, the right of the public to be informed, and openness and accountability.”

Van Damme was reacting to the announcement by ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu that the ongoing “shenanigans” at the broadcaster, which include the broadcaster defying another court order regarding controversial Hlaudi Motsoeneng, has forced the ANC caucus in Parliament to recommend a formal inquiry into the fitness of the state-owned broadcaster’s board to hold office.

The appointment of Motsoeneng as group executive for corporate affairs after the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled his appointment as chief operating officer was unlawful “was without a doubt the last straw that breaks the camel’s back”, Mthembu told journalists at a media briefing in Parliament.

Mthembu said the board’s decision was “unlawful” and it needed to meet immediately to “rescind it”.

In August, Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications decided against an inquiry after various ANC MPs blocked the move, which angered opposition parties.

Asked why there was now an about-turn, Mthembu said the latest developments at the broadcaster were indeed the final straw, adding that the board will have a lot of explaining to do when it appeared before the portfolio committee next week.

“Before we have even spoken to them next week, they mess up again, appoint a non-employee to a position without due process again in defiance of court decision, in total defiance of our rule of law,” said Mthembu.