NO MORE CADRE DEPLOYMENT IN SABC BOARD says COPE

The current process to fill vacancies in the SABC Board is an ideal opportunity - possibly the last - to depoliticise the Board and to include specific fields of expertise which should drive the financial turnaround strategy of the public broadcaster. Additional expertise is also required to ensure implementation of sound corporate governance procedures and to select programmes that will attract advertisements to supplement income.

Without qualitative leadership with appropriate expertise and knowledge, the serious challenges facing the corporation will not be resolved. This could easily become an excuse for government to throw more money at the problem in return for greater political control of the public broadcaster.

Although a shortlist of nominated candidates has been agreed upon by all parties, candidates will have to prove their expertise in the interviews which will be conducted next week. Nominations of suitably qualified candidates were received before the deadline, although it is evident that the Luthuli House ANC cadre deployment department worked overtime to arrange the submission of ANC connected individuals.

COPE will not support the appointment of any candidate with a political background or with direct connections with the ANC. The functioning of the SABC Board has been severely compromised during the past three years by political meddling from the ruling party. This was not only in contravention of the law and the Constitution, but one of the root causes of the financial and management challenges at the SABC, resulting in a serious credibility crisis for highly professional individual members of the Board and the Board as a whole.

Statement issued by Ms Juli Kilian, MP, COPE member of the parliamentary portfolio committee on communications, January 13 2011

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