Parliament - The decision by South African Broadcasting Corporation board chairman Mbulaheni Maguvhe to lead a walkout of the parliamentary inquiry into the affairs of the public broadcaster was "disgusting" and "disrespectful", the office of ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said on Wednesday.Mthembu's office was reacting to the walkout by Maguvhe and SABC executives on Wednesday morning which followed a refusal by the parliamentary ad hoc committee conducting the inquiry to delay the probe any further.
This followed after Maghuve's launched an appeal against the ruling by the Western Cape High Court on Friday which dismissed his application for an interdict to halt the inquiry.
"The walkout and the irrational request by Maguvhe and other SABC representatives today are the latest in a series of stalling tricks aimed at frustrating the work of the ad hoc committee," a statement from Mthembu said.
"The committee is already behind schedule due to Maguvhe’s court interdict, which was rejected by the Western Cape High Court on Friday. Late yesterday afternoon, on the eve today’s meeting, Maguvhe launched an urgent appeal with the hope of interdicting the probe from going ahead."
Mthembu also criticised the refusal of the broadcaster to hand over documents relevant to the probe, including those involving the appointment of controversial SABC executive for corporate affairs, Hlaudi Motsoengeng, and those relating to the controversial multi-million rand deal giving pay-TV operator MultiChoice access to the SABC’s archives.
"Today’s [Wednesday's] walkout, including the refusal to provide Parliament with documents, was designed to disrupt the work of Parliament and show contempt for Parliament’s constitutional powers.
"The utter disrespect that the SABC chairman and his lackeys continue to demonstrate against Parliament, including the very institution they lead, represents a serious attack against these public institutions and the people of South Africa."
Mthembu wants Parliament to take action to "nip this abhorrent conduct in the bud".
He warned that in terms of a provision in the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, people may not create disturbances while a committee of the legislature is meeting.
"Depending on the gravity of the conduct, such disruptions are punishable by a fine or an imprisonment for up to three years," Mthembu's office cautioned.
"The act also prescribes a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months against a witness who is before a committee of Parliament who refuses to 'produce any document in his or her possession or custody or under his or her control which he or she has been required to produce'."