SABC's unlawful appointment of Motsoeneng the 'last straw' - ANC

28 September 2016

Cape Town – Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s "unlawful" appointment as SABC group executive of corporate affairs is the last straw that breaks the camel’s back, the ANC in Parliament said on Wednesday.

The party was gravely concerned about the ongoing situation at the SABC, which had seen it regularly hogging headlines for all the wrong reasons, ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu told reporters in Parliament.

Developments at the public broadcaster were causing the country serious embarrassment.

"The shenanigans that have been unfolding at the SABC only serve to distract the public broadcaster from discharging its core public service mandate.

"The appointment of the corporation’s former COO, whose previous appointment was also set aside by the courts, is without a doubt the last straw that breaks the camel’s back."

The decision to reappoint Motsoeneng in a new position was a violation of court rulings and unlawful. The SABC board, which had been summoned to Parliament in October, had a responsibility to rescind it.

"It is clear that this board is failing spectacularly to exercise its fiduriary obligation to steer the organisation. We will recommend that Parliament institute an inquiry into the fitness of the current board members to lead the public broadcaster.”

Mthembu said Parliament would be failing in its responsibility if it allowed the "deteriorating situation" at the SABC to continue.

He said Supreme Court of Appeal’s judgment last Monday should have put the matter to bed.

"But it looks like it is far from being put to bed," he said.

The SCA dismissed Motsoeneng’s bid to appeal a November 2015 Western Cape High Court ruling declaring his appointment as COO irrational and setting it aside.

This article first appeared on News24, see here.