Resignation of the last SABC board member

19 December 2016

The Office of the ANC Chief Whip in Parliament welcomes the resignation of the remaining non-executive member and chairman of the SABC Board, Prof. Mbulaheni Maguvhe. While we regret that Prof Maguvhe's conscience took excruciatingly longer to speak to him, thereby causing further damage to the corporation's governance and frustrating Parliamentary intervention, we are confident that his exit will speed up the process of addressing leadership crisis at SABC.

It is unfortunate that Prof Maguvhe chose to sacrifice his personal reputation and professional integrity by putting his selfish personal interests ahead of those of South Africans, who are the shareholders of the SABC. The unacceptable obstinacy of board members who remain stumbling blocks to resolving corporate governance problems is a lesson which Parliament must learn from going forward. The Broadcasting Act might need to be revisited and tightened to ensure that inquorate Boards or individuals are not allowed to hold such important public institution to ransom.

With Maguvhe's departure, we will now await Parliament's conclusion of the inquiry, which may necessitate the swift appointment of the interim board. The outcome of the inquiry and lessons learned will enrich the process of finding a suitably qualified members of the new Board. 

Issued by Moloto Mothapo on behalf of the Office of the ANC Chief Whip, 19 December 2016