Parliament - The SABC board appears to have escaped another bid to have it axed after MPs refused calls by civil society to remove it.
The board has been under pressure in the last few weeks, but the latest twist on alleged millions paid to Hlaudi Motsoeneng added insult to injury.
Motsoeneng and the board have in the past few days refused calls to fire him after a judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
On Sunday, the Save Our SABC Coalition and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) called on the portfolio committee on communications to axe the board after it emerged in newspaper reports taht Motsoeneng has apparently been paid a bonus of R11.4 million.
This was in relation to the sale of SABC archives to MultiChoice three years ago.
Motsoeneng is due to receive another R33m in bonuses for the next three years over similar deals.
The Save Our SABC Coalition and MMA said the SABC board deserved to be axed.
Sekoetlane Phamodi, the co-ordinator for the Save Our SABC Coalition, said on Sunday they wanted the portfolio committee on communications to act decisively against the SABC board. He said Parliament needed to get rid of the board because it had neglected its fiduciary duties for a long time.
Motsoeneng would not go because of political protection, he said.
Phamodi said the R11.4m cash bonanza said to have been paid to Motsoeneng and another R33m in the pipeline were because of an incompetent board.
“What has been happening is the destabilisation of the SABC to ensure the SABC is pliant to the president,” he said.
William Bird of Media Monitoring Africa said people were disgusted by the scandals at the SABC. What was needed was a new board that would get things right at the public broadcaster, he said.
But chairman of the committee, Humphrey Maxegwana said no decision would be taken to remove the board now.
“We don’t share the view that the board must be dissolved. We just have to wait and hear from them,” he said.
“We were supposed to meet with the SABC board in November, but there are developments. We will call them as soon as possible,” he said.
He added that their meeting will now take place next month, but there were no issues at this stage that warranted the dissolution of the board. The SABC has had several boards over the past few years, with many being dissolved because of infighting.
* Eyewitness News is quoting SABC board member, Krish Naidoo, as saying that if Motsoeneng has in fact received money, then the National Treasury must intervene. Naidoo told EWN that said that he didn't know if Motsoeneng has received a huge bonus but says that if he had, that payment must be illegal.
Political Bureau