SABC: COO battle resolved soon? DA wants open meeting on broadcaster

The DA wants a frank discussion in an open committee on the situation at the SABC.

He told the Cape Town Press Club the position "stalemate" was likely to end should negotiations be successful with a candidate who believed he should have been appointed.

Carrim's spokesman Siya Qoza confirmed this candidate was Mvuzo Mbebe, who was recommended for the job in 2007 but was never appointed.

He got a court interdict in 2008 preventing the appointment of a new chief operating officer.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng is in the position on an acting basis.

"We are looking at one legal aspect to finalise and negotiate a deal [with Mbebe]," Carrim said.

"If all goes well, within the next few days the matter will be resolved, which means the post will then be advertised."

Qoza said that when the job was advertised, Motsoeneng and "everyone else" would be free to apply.

He said the SABC board would then consider the applications and make a recommendation for appointment.

Source: Sapa, via I-Net Bridge

Meanwhile...

DA calls for open meeting on SABC

The Democratic Alliance's Marian Shinn, Shadow Minister of Communications, says that Communications Minister, Yunus Carrim, will not brief Parliament in an open meeting on the criminal prosecutions arising from the R19.5 million Special Investigation Unit (SIU) probe of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

The DA statement says that in a reply to a DA parliamentary question, Minister Carrim has requested that the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications (PCC), Eric Kholwane, provide him with an opportunity to brief the committee on the SIU's investigation in a closed meeting.

The DA says it will not be party to a confidential briefing on this matter.

It says Minister Carrim should be as frank as possible on the years-long investigation without infringing on the legal rights of those not yet criminally charged.

Shinn says she will request that the Minister reconsider the closed briefing in the spirit of openness and transparency.

"The Minister should rather, in an open committee, brief us on each case, without naming those not yet charged, as well as giving us the names of those formally charged, as that information is in the public domain.

"Anything else will be deemed to be a cover-up or lethargy on the part of the SIU and SABC to adequately deal with the wide-ranging corruption that brought the SABC to its knees four years ago.

"The DA has been asking for this information for over a year and it should have been presented to us at a Committee meeting in February.

"During an open briefing, the Minister can also give us an update on:

• The number of cases and how many have been concluded;
• How many of the employees investigated are still employed at the SABC and under what conditions were they allowed to keep their jobs; as well as
• How many cases are on-going and what are the reasons for the protraction.

Shinn says that in a previous response to a DA parliamentary question, "the Minister revealed that disciplinary steps were only pursued against 300 of the 1,465 employees identified during various investigations.

"In order to root out corruption at the public broadcaster, it is necessary that the appropriate action is taken against any and all employees guilty of corrupt activities.

Shinn says "a frank discussion in an open committee is the surest way to go."