SACP STATEMENT ON REPORTED PROBLEMS AT THE SABC

The SACP has noted media reports about the crisis of governance and leadership once more inflicting the SABC (see Sunday Tribune article). These challenges indeed pose a major threat to the process of stabilising the SABC and turning it once and for all into a truly public broadcaster.

Once more, instead of focusing on the core functions of the SABC and delivering on the turnaround strategy, the SABC has been turned into a war zone and a cash cow for other people.

The SACP calls on the Portfolio Committee and the Minister of Communications, on behalf of the people and the shareholder, to urgently intervene and get to the bottom of the allegations that a fraudster with multiple identities and earning twice ('double dipping') was brought into the corporation by a board member who apparently was fully aware of the background of this person and the corrupt arrangements in paying him. The SACP on its part wants those who brought a fraudster to the SABC to account and if found that they acted improperly they must be removed from the board.

We cannot allow corruption to take place under our nose with unqualified fraudsters getting a double pay from an already bankrupt institution. Clearly, a legitimate turn-around process has been used to drive personal enrichment schemes and turn the SABC into a mouth-piece of certain political actors. The lack of leadership and decisive action from the board leaves much to be desired. We are deeply concerned that lack of action on the part of the SABC Board is because some of the board members themselves are heavily implicated.

On its part, the SACP is reliably informed that the Public Protector has been sitting with a dossier that details the corruption and self enrichment scheme being run at the SABC for close to six months now. The SACP demands the Public Protector to announce the findings of her investigations if there have been any conducted and if none were conducted the SACP wants to know why that is the case.

It is our belief that corruption must be fought constantly and not selectively. The SABC board clearly has a case to answer and owes millions of our people a full explanation on how things have reached this point. The SACP has consistently been calling for the strengthening and resourcing of the SABC so that it can properly play its role as a public broadcaster, rather than an instrument for personal accumulation favouring moneyed political interests. We call for nothing less other than urgent and decisive action!

Statement issued by the SACP, November 8 2011

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