Johannesburg - The ANC’s top brass will meet Monday at the party’s Luthuli House headquarters in Joburg in a frantic bid to “get the SABC out of its crisis mode” while the man at the centre of the storm - Hlaudi Motsoeneng - has embarked on a desperate bid to drum-up support among government and ANC structures.
With the ANC communications sub-committee expected to call for the removal of Motsoeneng and the entire SABC board when the committee meets, it remains to be seen whether communications minister Faith Muthambi - largely perceived to be Motsoeneng’s last line of defence - will finally give in on him in the face of growing hostility and anger among the ANC committee members.
Muthambi, herself a member of this committee, which is chaired by ANC MP Jackson Mthembu, is expected to attend the meeting. Up until now, Muthambi’s firm support for Motsoeneng has ensured he strengthened his grip despite several high court rulings and Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s recommendation that he be removed from his position as chief operations officer.
Muthambi is believed to have already accepted an invitation to attend Monday’s meeting according to ANC and SABC insiders close to the situation.
Matters expected to feature high on the agenda of the meeting, include irregular appointments of senior managers at the SABC, the role of the SABC board, controversial editorial decisions including the censorship of news, as well as the suspension of several senior SABC journalists who have broken ranks and questioned Motsoeneng’s controversial decisions.
Members of the ANC sub-committee on communications who are expected to attend Monday’s meeting include, party spokesman Zizi Kodwa, ANC Tshwane mayoral candidate Thoko Didiza, Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi, ANC MP and former youth league leader Pule Mabe, as well as Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Obed Bapela, among others.
Ahead of the ANC committee meeting, the beleaguered Motsoeneng met ANC Youth League president Collen Maine at the Southern Sun hotel in Pretoria on Thursday, where the two are believed to have discussed Motsoeneng’s faltering grip and the league’s support.
The meeting between Motsoeneng and Maine on Thursday night came in the wake of the youth league’s statement which defended him while attacking critics who “suggest that there is something wrong at SABC or its leadership as “cowards”.The meeting with the Youth League president happened as the MK Veterans’ League also threw its weight behind Motsoeneng.
Speaking to The Sunday Independent on Friday, Mthembu dismissed suggestions that there were divisions within the ANC over Motsoeneng and his handling of SABC affairs.
“Members of the ANC (NEC) in that committee are at one. The minister is fully aware of this.
“The stance that we are taking does not mean we agree with the burning of property as much we don’t agree with censorship,” said Mthembu in an apparent reference to his denunciation of Motsoeneng’s decision to ban images of violent protests.
“It has never been the intention of the ANC to fight any individual or individuals within the SABC,” he said. “But we want to fix and restore issues of corporate governance within the SABC.”
Mthembu minced no words as he emphasised how censorship was “never ANC policy. This is a matter that speaks to ANC policy.
“The ANC charter on media forbids this. That charter has not changed.This is a policy position to all of us unless we change it at the national conference. This has been our policy position from when still fighting the apartheid state.
“We were clear on what kind of the public broadcaster we want. Censorship is a no-no in the ANC. We cannot deny the people the rights and freedoms they fought for. the right of South Africans to consume what they want. All the recent editorial decisions appear to have reversed the democratic gains,” he said.
“By the way, I’m not speaking for myself but for my organisation. Freedom of the press and information is unfettered in our policy positions.
“The SABC is an asset of our people. They can use any other policy but not the ANC policy to infringe on the rights of our people. Decisions which negatively impact on the people of South Africa cannot just be SABC board decisions.”
He reiterated comments he made at his earlier press briefing where he condemned Motsoeneng’s lack of qualifications.
Although he did not directly mention Motsoeneng by name, Mthembu said: “When you don’t have requisite skills and capacity, you cannot expect to have requisite outcomes. You can’t turn it (SABC) around with people without knowledge. It will be a pipe dream.”
Frustrations within the ANC about the SABC appear to stem from Muthambi’s reluctance to implement ANC policy resolutions with regard to among others, the digital policy and the role of the SABC board and management.
Another member of the committee who declined to be named said indications are that since the ANC’s Mangaung conference in 2012 and last year’s national general council, “those problems are still with us. “We have not moved an inch. The consequences can unfortunately only be seen in what is happening within the SABC.
“The ANC as a body needs to be seen to be speaking in one voice on policy matters but that is not happening,” she said in reference to Muthambi’s frequent clashes with the ANC on policy matters. Hopefully she will make it to the meeting on Monday.”
“We have raised these issues including the irregular appointments at the SABC. Irregular appointments put all of us in a bad light,” she said.
After its meeting this week, cabinet reaffirmed its support for media freedom, freedom of expression and the right of any person to access information in South Africa.
“The role of the SABC as the public broadcaster remains vital for the development of our young democracy. The current discussion over the SABC’s editorial decisions regarding the broadcasting of images of violence and destruction of property should be held in a constructive manner that would serve to strengthen our democracy.
“Cabinet remains confident that the public broadcaster will continue to serve the interests of all the people of South Africa,” the statement said.
The only matter that can stand in the way of Motsoeneng and the SABC’s board removal, according to ANC sources, are the forthcoming local government elections as party heavyweights are criss-crossing the country drumming up support for the local elections. It is believed the party’s sub-committee will brief ANC top six officials following its meeting Monday.
The Sunday Independent