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Yesterday, 25th July, was the closing date for nominations of members for the SABC Board to be submitted to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications. The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) undertook a process to draw up a list of nominees. We drew up a list of seven people after soliciting suggestions from a range of civil society organisations.
These included: the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu), the Media Workers’ Association of South Africa (MWASA), the South African NGO Coalition (Sangoco). Not all these organisations necessarily support all the nominees. Over the past few years, the SABC has been lurching from one scandal to another. The blame for these scandals – including blacklisting of commentators, the refusal to release the blacklisting report prepared by a commission of enquiry appointed by the SABC itself, the banning of the documentary on President Thabo Mbeki, the banning of news items which showed Deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka being booed at a rally, the PSL debacle – lies squarely with the SABC’s management. However, the SABC Board, the top governance structure of the corporation, is equally culpable. Members of the Board are certainly to blame when, not only is no action taken against an employee who causes the SABC to violate its licence conditions, the Broadcasting Act and the South African Constitution, but the Board says it has full confidence in the perpetrator. In the latest scandal, the SABC’s Internal Audit division has reported gross irregularities and self-enrichment – costing the broadcaster millions of rands - by a particular staff member. The SABC was informed of this in April. To date, no action has been taken and the staffer in still in his position. The Board has to take responsibility for this as well. We therefore believe that the entire SABC Board needs to be replaced by new people who will ensure that the new Board will be one of integrity and be committed to ensuring transparency and committed to transforming the SABC into a true public broadcaster which is independent of government, political parties, economic and other sectional interests. Further, conflicts of interest – which plague the current Board – are not acceptable. We believe that the nominees that we are putting forward fulfil these requirements. The nominees are: · Advocate Dumisa Buhle Ntsebeza SC: An advocate of the High Court, Ntsebeza has also served as an Acting Judge, law lecturer and Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. · Advocate Lebohang Clyde Mandla Seleoane: He is a campus director of the Tshwane University of Technology and runs a labour relations consultancy. Seleoane has broad experience in student, political, community and labour organisations. He also served as Chairperson of the FXI. · Cunningham Thozamile Ngcukana: For the past two years, Ngcukana has worked for Investec Asset Management, investigating investment opportunities with unions. Previously, he was Deputy Director General in the Presidency, responsible for Nepad. Ncgukana is most well known as a trade unionist, having been the General Secretary of Nactu from 1988 to 2004. · Professor Adam Mahomed Habib: an academic, Habib has served as the head of the Centre for Civil Society at the University of Kwazulu-Natal and currently is the head of the Governance Programme at the Human Sciences Research Council. From September, he will take up a position as Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at the University of Johannesburg. He is also a well-known political commentator. · Makoma Lekalakala : Is an activist with a number of organisations. She is the convenor of the Social Movements Indaba in Johannesburg, campaigner for Umzabalazo we Jubilee, Board member of Ceasefire and of the Khanya Women’s Consortium. · Randall Howard: Is the General Secretary of the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union. He has been a unionist since the 1980s and has also served as a member of the Management Committee and Executive Council of Nedlac, and a member of Cosatu’s Central Executive Committee. · Mary Bernadette Papayya: having been engaged in a number of media / journalism roles for the past 19 years, Papaya is currently working as Bureau Chief of the Sowetan. She is also General Secretary of the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) and a board member of the Media Institute of Southern Africa. She has served as senior journalist, bureau chief, editor/news Manager in both print and radio. Detailed curriculum vitae for these nominees are available from the FXI. For more information, call: Jane Duncan (FXI) – 011 403-8403 / 082 486 3600 Hassan Lorgat (Sangoco) - 082 411 2946 Na’eem Jeenah (FXI) – 011 403-8403 / 084 574 2674 Readers have left 3 comments. 1. MR
ANTHONY POSNER, Unregistered I am surprised that The FXI has nominated its chairperson Advocate Seleoane. Surely, this could, in the future, lead to a potential conflict of interests in a situation where The FXI is critical of The SABC board ?
There is moreover a wider danger that the FXI's nominees are really just a group of people that The FXI approve of.
The FXI's Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah should be more open about their own political agendas and should have the good sense not to get involved in nominating SABC board members. 2. MR
ANTHONY POSNER, Unregistered Doesn't Prof Habib want South Africa at The UN to ally itself more closely with China and Russia ? I mention this because Prof Habib is punted on The FXI website as a suitable candidate for The SABC's board.
The regimes in China and Russia are not known for advocating freedom of expression. Would a supporter of these regimes woul be an ideal candidate for the SABC board?
3. MR
ANTHONY POSNER, Unregistered Prof Habib was denied entry to the States...a badge of honour to be worn at The SABC's board meetings?
Would Prof Habib's views on the direction of South Africa's foreign policy be much different from Snuki Zikalala's?
I get the impression that Prof Habib has recently been influential in setting the agenda for South Africa's dismal performance on The UN's security council. How ironic that The FXI is now punting his SABC board nomination!
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