Johannesburg - Communications Minister Faith Muthambi and the SABC board have been summoned to Luthuli House, the ANC’s Johannesburg headquarters, to explain the chaos at the public broadcaster following the suspension of journalists, resignations and unprocedural changes in editorial policy.
But it remains to be seen whether the ANC national executive subcommittee on communications can enforce its will on Muthambi, who enjoys President Jacob Zuma’s unwavering support.
On Tuesday, sub-committee chairman Jackson Mthembu vowed the party would exert its control over Muthambi next Monday, when she is expected to account to it.
“We can’t allow our Constitution to be messed up, we can’t allow ANC policy to be contravened and that’s why we are meeting with the minister on Monday on these issues,” he said.
This came as the tide appeared to be turning against chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng, with the SACP expected today to join a coalition of civil society organisations picketing outside the SABC demanding the reinstatement of suspended journalists.
The growing backlash against Motsoeneng has also left the ANC nervous about the role of the public broadcaster in the run-up to the municipal elections.
In a hard-hitting and sometimes angry display, Mthembu effectively threw the broadcaster’s strongman Motsoeneng under the bus and distanced the ruling party from his leadership at the SABC, saying he was not representing the ANC.
He also questioned the role played by the SABC’s pliant board in the ongoing crisis.
Motsoeneng, who reportedly enjoys Zuma’s support, has been accused of running the SABC like a fiefdom and squashing dissenting voices, threatening his subordinates to toe the line or leave the public broadcaster.
But Mthembu on Tuesday sought to draw a line in the sand, indicating in no uncertain terms that the ANC was not happy about what was happening in the SABC. He effectively accused Motsoeneng of having no respect for South Africa’s Constitution, saying some of the policies he had enforced bordered on censorship and were in contravention of the country’s supreme law.
“We want people who are qualified to lead the SABC... You can’t bring any Tom, Dick and Harry to run such an institution.
“We are not happy with the expertise that the SABC has at its highest level. No wonder you get such decisions being made,” Mthembu said.
Motsoeneng was found by the public protector to have lied about his qualifications and is woefully underqualified to lead a major public institution.
Motsoeneng, who is said to rule the SABC by decree despite the nominal existence of a board and a string of short-lived CEOs, has defended his decision not to show footage of violent protests on TV, but Mthembu said the decision was taken without consulting the ANC. He described the decision as “unintelligent” and taken by someone who sat in a “cosy office” on behalf of South Africans.
Mthembu said the ruling party was still waiting for the turnaround strategy from Muthambi.
The Star