SABC called in Special Investigating Unit

One of the first announcements by the chairperson of the board, D Ben Ngubane, on 14 January 2010, was that the then new board would implement the Auditor General of South Africa's (AGSA) recommendation. This resulted in the board requesting the SIU to investigate all the issues that were not investigated by the AGSA.

In a statement released on 3 May 2010, when the SIU started work at the SABC, the SABC points out that it was clearly indicated that the SIU would review policies, procedures and systems of the SABC and would seek to establish compliance with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and corporate governance protocols. The SABC also indicated that upon completion of its work, the SIU team will submit its report to the board and that the board would report to Parliament. The board is clearly committed to deal with all the issues raised by the AGSA in order to restore the credibility of the SABC.

It is therefore unfortunate, says the SABC in a statement, that the report was leaked to the media before the board was given an opportunity to deal with the recommendations that are in the report.

The board has extended the term of the SIU investigation and it is now in the second phase. This is an affirmation that the board is committed to dealing with all the issues that needs to be investigated. The board would also like to assure the SIU of its support and commits to implementing all the recommendations of the SIU and AGSA.