Cape Town - The Western Cape High Court was buzzing with media and heavyweight legal minds on Wednesday morning as the Democratic Alliance (DA) prepared for another showdown with Hlaudi Motsoeneng, Group Executive of Corporate Affairs at the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
Motsoeneng, described as a “toxic influence” by the DA, looked relaxed as he walked into Courtroom 1 flanked by his allies.
The chairperson of the DA’s Federal Executive, James Selfe, said in a statement on Wednesday that the court must remove Motsoeneng from his position “until and only if the Public Protector report is set aside”. The 2014 report found, amongst other things, that Motsoeneng had lied about his matric qualifications, and had given himself irregular salary increases.
“The first application pertains to the DA’s request, lodged in March, to have the farcical outcome of the disciplinary inquiry into Motsoeneng, then as Chief Operating Officer (COO), set aside, as it was fatally flawed and only served to shield him from accountability,” the statement read.
Selfe said the outcome of the disciplinary hearing could not be accepted because of numerous charges including gross dishonesty that it simply dismissed.
“The second part deals with the DA’s application, lodged in October, to have the appointment of Motsoeneng as Group Executive of Corporate Affairs, declared invalid,” Selfe said.
Describing Motsoeneng as “a one-man wrecking machine”, the DA contends that he has damaged the credibility of the public broadcaster.
The DA also took aim at Communications Minister Faith Muthambi, accusing her of having no interest in making sure the SABC is run effectively.
AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY