Durban - Suspended SABC head of news Phil Molefe was paid full benefits amounting to R2.2-million while staying at home since early last year, while suspended chief financial officer Gugu Duda bagged R1.5-million.
The two were suspended last year by the public broadcaster at different times for different reasons.
Molefe was placed on special leave in April while Duda was suspended in September.
The SABC declined to give reasons for Molefe’s suspension, saying discussions between Molefe and chief executive Lulama Mokhobo were pending.
The Mercury reported last year that Molefe had been placed on special leave after he apparently defied senior executives’ orders to stop giving air time to former African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema.
Molefe allegedly refused to obey the order given to him by Mokhobo and the acting chief operating officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
It is understood that the root of the conflict was Molefe’s decision to give full coverage to rallies which were addressed by Malema.
Before Molefe’s suspension, Mokhobo and Motsoeneng allegedly went to Molefe’s office and demanded that he hand over his editorial diary.
Molefe allegedly refused, saying it was against the public broadcaster’s editorial policy.
In a written parliamentary reply on Wednesday, Communications Minister Dina Pule confirmed that Duda and Molefe were paid R1 563 275 and R2 278 607 respectively while their disciplinary cases were being finalised.
DA MP Marian Shinn had asked Pule what type of leave Molefe and Duda were on and what the conditions of their leave were.
For Molefe “full benefits are due until the disciplinary process is complete”, Pule said. The same applied to Duda.
Duda was suspended in connection with allegations of irregularity in relation to the procurement of certain services.
The head of television news, Jimi Matthews, took over Molefe’s duties during his absence.
“Mr Molefe was placed on special leave due to issues that pertain to human resource policy matters and it is therefore strictly an operational matter,” SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said in a statement at the time.
He could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
The public broadcaster was back in the spotlight earlier this week when its interim board appeared before Parliament for the first time since it was elected.
One of the first issues the board had to answer was how Motsoeneng remained in his position despite having been removed by the previous board. - Political Bureau