Johannesburg – Fired SABC boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng has hinted at appealing his dismissal, suggesting that his axing was predetermined.
He said he was not formally notified of the termination of his contract, and that he would decide on what steps to take once he had seen the letter explaining the decision.
"I don't have that ruling. I don't want to comment from the air. I want to read it (first). I will deal with the issue after getting the ruling," he told The Star on Monday, moments after SABC interim board chairperson Khanyisile Kweyana announced his sacking during a media briefing.
Kweyama said the disciplinary hearing, which concluded on Friday and was headed by Advocate Nazeer Cassim, had found Motsoeneng guilty of misconduct and bringing the SABC into disrepute.
Motsoeneng, the former COO, was charged after he hosted an unauthorised media briefing in April, at which he criticised the SABC interim board chairperson Krish Naidoo and the Parliamentary ad-hoc committee.
He also used briefing to defended his controversial 90% local music content on radio, which has led to the public broadcaster losing millions of rand in ad revenue.
Kweyama said the action against Motsoeneng was to discourage other employees from defying the public broadcaster.
“You act so that when someone tries it in the future, they know that the end of it is dismissal.
"There will be no SABC staff going out and calling media briefings. The policy is clear that the chairperson is the spokesperson of the SABC and can delegate to acting CEO.”
The Star also contacted Motsoeneng's legal counsel, Advocate Zola Majavu, who said: "There's nothing (to comment about). I haven't received any judgment and letter of dismissal."
He questioned why news of Motsoeneng's dismissal came to light even before the official pronouncement by the SABC. "Everyone has been tweeting about it. I really don't know. Even when the DC (displinary hearing) started, they said they said they want to dismiss him summarily."
He added: "If you can go to any lawyer, if a person has been found guilty, he has the right to present aggravation in sentencing."
In addition to appealing the ruling, The Star has reliably learnt that Motsoeneng was considering approaching the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration or/and Labour Court as among his options.