Parliament – Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the controversial South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) executive without a matric certificate, did not receive any protection from President Jacob Zuma, former board chairman Ben Ngubane told MPs on Friday.
"There is no protection Mr Motsoeneng or we [former board] get from the President," said Ngubane while testifying in the parliamentary inquiry into the SABC's affairs.
He defended his tenure as board chairman from December 2009 until his resignation in March 2013, saying he "saved the SABC" from its financial difficulties at the time, and also defended Motsoeneng, saying he was integral in establishing trust between the board, the executive and employees, despite contrary testimony from former board members and executives last month.
Asked about his relationship with the controversial Gupta family, Ngubane told MPs that he was not comfortable answering any questions on this, as allegations of state capture contained in former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's last report before her tenure ended, was being taken on review.
In that report, several allegations are made about the Guptas being given preferential treatment by the Eskom board, which Ngubane chairs. Democratic Alliance MP Phumzile van Damme inferred that whenever Ngubane moved to a new board, the Gupta family would follow.
Gupta company, The New Age (TNA) newspaper, has an agreement with the SABC in which it televises TNA breakfast briefings. Ngubane denied Motsoeneng had initiated the process of using SABC resources to broadcast the briefings, blaming former head of news Phil Molefe, who had made a presentation to the then board.
Asked whether he had ever met with a member of the Gupta family or one of their representatives, he chose only to say: "When we began participating in the breakfast briefings, I think I gave about three or four opening remarks at water affairs and other departments. I used to sit at the table with executives of TNA."
"I did not bring the Guptas to the SABC. The whole came though normal channel of news and we approved the business plan."
Ngubane said there was no political pressure applied on the board to ensure The New Age briefings, as well as the ordering of 800 TNA newspapers a day.