CAPE TOWN - The DA said on Friday that they will not let the matter of the SABC’s top management’s alleged reduced salaries rest.
In a statement, released today, the DA said that "the public has a right to know, and fight for that right to know we shall."
The DA's Shadow Minister of Communications, Phumzile Van Damme, said: "We have today submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to the SABC requesting the full salary packages of the public broadcaster’s GCEO, COO and CFO."
The statement said that PAIA aims to promote transparency, accountability and effective governance of all public bodies, like the SABC.
Van Damme went on to say that the grounds for refusal of information in the Act do not apply to the SABC in this instance.
"We trust that the public broadcaster’s management will reveal the requested information in the spirit of promotion of transparency, accountability and effective governance at the SABC, as they often proclaim to be adherents of."
"We have also submitted parliamentary questions to the Minister of Communications, Nomvula Mokonyane requesting full details of the salary packages of the GCEO, COO and CFO, including information regarding the process followed in their employment."
According to the DA, Mokonyane has an obligation in terms of the Rules of Parliament to respond in writing within ten working days.
"We look forward to a written reply which will provide full details of the information requested," Van Damme said.
The SABC is currently facing a serious financial crisis, it has been declared by the Auditor-General to be commercially insolvent.
The DA feels that instead of taking the public into confidence regarding all measures that it will be taking to turn the SABC to calm waters, and how it has, as it claims, contributed to reducing the SABC’s R3.1 billion salary bill, management is choosing to place a veil of secrecy on their own salaries. Moreover, the DA said that this is at the same time the SABC is considering retrenching a bloated middle management staff component and indeed junior staff.
Van Damme concluded that the DA will not stop until the information is made public and will use all mechanisms available to us to provide this information to the public.