Johannesburg - Controversial SABC employee, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, on Tuesday lashed out at his critics after the public broadcaster appointed him back to group executive of corporate affairs position, promising to make his new position “very interesting”.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) was caught between a rock and a hard place following the Supreme Court Appeal’s (SCA) decision to deny him leave to appeal a high court ruling invalidating his permanent appointment as chief operations officer (COO) two years ago.
As group executive of Corporate Affairs, Motsoeneng will oversee all provincial offices of the SABC.
Motsoeneng said other media houses were “malicious” and “misleading to the public” about the high court judgement concerning his employment status. He said the ruling concerned the process of his appointment, not his suitability for the post.
“I accept the court decision that proper process should be followed. And of course I am going to apply for the COO position like any other citizen because I qualify,” Motsoeneng said.
“I believe everywhere I am, I perform miracles, and I will perform miracles in my new position as corporate affairs and make it very interesting. You didn’t know anything about the COO position before I arrived, but now you know about it.”
Motsoeneng criticised those who said he was being manipulated by powerful politicians to use the SABC for their own ends, saying he has his own mind.
“I’m a different animal. People think that because I’m a rural boy then I don’t know what I’m doing. I was not produced by media or individuals. There is only one Hlaudi. I have my own brain,” Motsoeneng said.
SABC acting chief executive, James Aguma, declined to comment what would happen to Bessie Tugwana, who was appointed head of the SABC’s Corporate Affairs on August 1.
But Aguma admitted that the board appointed Motsoeneng as it was its prerogative to do so and declined to comment whether his salary package would be down scaled as the COO position was more lucrative.
Motsoeneng reiterated his commitment to transformation in media in the country, saying he had been “very vocal on these issues”.
“We are going to deal with transformation unapologetically,” Motsoeneng said.
He denied being hands-on in SABC’s newsrooms, saying: “I’m not involved in operational decisions, I’m only involved strategic decisions”.
Meanwhile, Motsoeneng refused to talk about his R11.4 million bonus he reportedly received in commissions or bonuses for facilitating a R500 million deal with MultiChoice to create SABC channels on DStv, saying: “Don’t go there. You wanna spoil the party. Those are employer-employee issues.”
African News Agency