Johannesburg - Controversial SABC boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng hung on to his job by a thread on Thursday night, following a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that he be suspended immediately and face disciplinary action.
A defiant Motsoeneng told The Star on Thursday that he was still consulting his lawyers to weigh his options. However, the SABC indicated it would study the judgment before deciding on the next course of action.
SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said this meant Motsoeneng would stay put.
“He remains in his job until a decision is made on how we move forward, because we need to get advice from our legal team on what needs to be done,” he added.
In its landmark ruling, the SCA affirmed the powers of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela and emphasised that her findings could not be ignored.
Madonsela had in her report, titled “When Governance and Ethics Fail”, recommended that Motsoeneng be suspended immediately and disciplinary action be taken against him for illegally increasing his salary from R1.5 million in 2012 to R2.4m.
That was before Motsoeneng upped it again from R2.8m to R3.7m in the past financial year, despite the SABC incurring a loss of R401m.
Motsoeneng and various government officials have repeatedly maintained that Madonsela’s findings are not binding, and Thursday’s ruling comes as a vindication of her.
The ruling was also a blow to the government, after a 2014 Western Cape High Court judgment in the same case provided the state with apparent leverage to overrule Madonsela’s reports, notably on the Nkandla controversy.
The DA, which took the SABC to court over the Motsoeneng issue, hailed Thursday’s judgment as a victory for democracy.
Chairman of the DA federal executive James Selfe said the SABC shouldn’t wait another minute before acting against its chief operations officer.
He said the verdict had wider implications for the Nkandla report, which was adopted by Parliament.
“This judgment has serious ramifications for President Jacob Zuma and his liability for the R246m Nkandlagate scandal.”
The Star