Johannesburg - Mass action will be rolled out across the country over the next few weeks to force SABC strongman Hlaudi Motsoeneng from his job and reverse his restrictive editorial policies at the public broadcaster.
Participants agreed at a meeting of civil-society organisations and activists in Joburg on Monday night that rolling mass action should be set in motion in an effort to push back against Motsoeneng and restore the credibility of the SABC.
SOS Coalition national co-ordinator Sekoetlane Phamodi said they would picket outside the SABC’s Auckland Park headquarters tomorrow and would be joined by the SACP, among other organisations.
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Motsoeneng’s alleged reign of terror at the public broadcaster came to light following the suspension of several senior journalists opposed to his censorship policy in the corporation, and after seasoned journalist Jimi Matthews’s resignation as the SABC’s acting group chief executive last week.
He stated in his resignation letter, which he posted on social media, that what was happening at the SABC was wrong. Journalists were working under a climate of fear, with Motsoeneng threatening the staff to obey orders or leave.
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The ANC has since called on Communications Minister Faith Muthambi to investigate all the allegations levelled against Motsoeneng, who’s widely seen as an ally of President Jacob Zuma.
On Tuesday, Cope said the municipal elections on August 3 would be neither free nor fair “because of the skewed reporting and conspiratorial decisions of SABC editors against opposition parties”.
The party said it would approach Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, communications regulator Icasa (Independent Communications Authority of SA) and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of SA “to probe the flagrant abuse of power by both the ANC and the SABC.
“Icasa must also, in our view, review the licensing conditions of the SABC,” the party said.
Matthews admitted in a television interview over the weekend that he had participated in SABC decisions to gag and starve opposition parties of news coverage.
But the ANC Youth League, a staunch defender of Zuma and Motsoeneng, hit back on Monday.
League national spokesman Mlondi Mkhize said they had noted the “attacks directed at the SABC” and dismissed them as acts of cowardice.
Asked if they had full confidence in Motsoeneng running the corporation, Mkhizetold The Star: “Look, the SABC is not led by Hlaudi.
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“It is led by a board, and the COO (chief operating officer) happens to just be another senior position within the SABC. We see nothing wrong with the SABC, just as there is nothing wrong with Eskom.”
@luyolomkentane
The Star