Sechaba ka’Nkosi: Hlaudi’s tumble leaves minister in a jumble

SABC group executive of corporate affairs, Hlaudi Motsoeneng. File picture: Paballo Thekiso

SABC group executive of corporate affairs, Hlaudi Motsoeneng. File picture: Paballo Thekiso

Published Oct 5, 2016

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Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s fall could signal a showdown between ministers, writes Sechaba ka’Nkosi.

The much anticipated axing of defiant SABC strongman Hlaudi Motsoeneng should rank as one of the most spectacular downfalls in post-apartheid South Africa.

It would be made more spectacular by the fact that Motsoeneng thought of himself as the best thing that ever happened to mankind and that his fate was eternally linked to the public broadcaster.

He tested the patience of the government and the ruling party to its utmost limit, believing that South Africa as a country owed him something. He defied sensible voices such as Jackson Mthembu and relied heavily on the advice of his political boss, Communications Minister Faith Muthambi, that he was untouchable.

In her interpretation of the law, Muthambi, an advocate, probably told him that institutions, such as the High Courts, had no jurisdiction over him.

Crushing critics

And so Motsoeneng went about crushing his critics and dispensing handsome handshakes to those he forced out of their jobs. But the power he and Muthambi thought they wielded came to a sudden stop last week when the Supreme Court of Appeals told them that his appointment as the broadcaster’s chief operations officer was not in line with the law, and forced the government to re-establish its authority over petulant parastatals that behave as if they are above the lines of accountability.

That is why Motsoeneng’s imminent fall could, most importantly, signal the final showdown between Muthambi and her cabinet colleagues’ attempts to right the wrongs that the SABC leadership has been given carte blanche to perfect under the recalcitrant minister. Their fate, though different, will therefore be forever intertwined in years to come. For in Motsoeneng, Muthambi found herself a useful ally who was prepared to give all those around her the middle finger to protect his power base.

This elaborate defence of power included the abuse of Professor Mbulaheni Maguvhe (who in a different world could probably be a decent man) to act as a front man for the scheming. Those who sought to remind the minister of her oversight role to the SABC were crushed ruthlessly and saw their professional fortunes burn by the roadside. And, therefore, when the cabinet this week backed the ANC national executive committee’s call for Motsoeneng to be fired, it also passed a vote of no confidence on a colleague. It told Muthambi that while she always thought of herself as a serious player in the country’s body politics, her record had not lived up to her wishes.

It also said not many of her colleagues had been impressed by her failure to oversee South Africa’s R4.3 billion set-top box tender, which made the country fall far behind the international switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television. And that she should have focused her energies on ensuring that South Africa was not left behind the digital migration instead of fighting her telecoms and postal services counterpart, Siyabonga Cwele, over the introduction of a new regulator to take over some of the Independent Communications Authority of SA’s (Icasa’s) crucial oversight functions.

But how did we, as a country, end up with the likes of Muthambi leading one of the most crucial institutions of transformation? The answer lies with the very people who seem to have suddenly seen what most people saw a long time ago – that Muthambi was never cut out for the position. When Muthambi was appointed to her position, she inherited a department that was left in shambles by her predecessor Dina Pule, who called it quits after she was found to have breached the code of conduct for MPs. So muddled was the department that President Jacob Zuma saw it necessary to split it between her and Cwele.

What was not recognised was that Muthambi could not lead a ministry that needed someone who had the charm, intelligence and political astuteness that only the likes of Naledi Pandor and Lindiwe Sisulu possess in abundance. She was too flat for the job and the monumental chaos she left behind as a municipal manager in the little town of Makhado in Limpopo did not inspire much confidence.

And that is why she had to rely on cunning personalities such as Motsoeneng to assert her power over the new department of communications formed out of Icasa, the SABC, Government Communication and Information System, Brand South Africa and the Media Development and Diversity Agency. So while she battled to understand her mandate, the wily Motsoeneng was left to unleash a reign of terror at the SABC and to ingrain himself with individuals, who otherwise would be of no particular significance.

Motsoeneng showed Muthambi that it was easy to survive by ignoring authority and running a myriad of schemes that range from giving musicians patronage more airtime to offering irrelevant outfits like the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) free publicity on the airwaves. She forgot that the SABC was key to the new economic thinking of the National Development Plan.

Embarrassing

That was so until this week, when senior ANC members realised that such pigheadedness was costly and embarrassing to the ruling party.Given the importance of the communications department to the government’s long-term plans, it is not surprising that Muthambi is set to become victim number nine in the long string of ministers who have graced the department. Her misplaced ambition to make it to the ruling party’s national executive committee could also be thwarted by her associations with people such as Motsoeneng.

So while Motsoeneng ponders another way of holding on to power, progressive South Africa should be celebrating the triumph of the rule of law over arrogance. Muthambi’s fading political star will forever be linked with Motsoeneng’s imminent exit from the corridors of power. Her departure could pave a way for her bubbly deputy, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, whose relevance in government has so far been reduced to flashing a model-like smile at departmental functions. And that should be a good cause for celebration.

* Sechaba ka’Nkosi’s column - The Shake-Up - is published in Business Report newspaper.

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