The preliminary report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into the SABC has revealed that fraud and corruption reach all the way to the very top levels of the organisation. The evidence of corruption and mismanagement is plain to see in the day-to-day functioning of the SABC, and these revelations in the preliminary SIU report come as no surprise.

In oversight trips to SABC offices across the country I witnessed the following effects of the deeply entrenched maladministration, abuse and corruption:

• SABC staff are deeply unhappy and demotivated, and many are resigning.
• There is no money available to fix SABC offices that are in a state of disrepair; one office, for example, went for months without working toilets.
• There is a constant threat of retrenchment hanging over the heads of SABC staff.
• All control is being centralised at head office in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, leaving satellite offices unable to make decisions or perform effectively.
• SABC currently cannot meet National Treasury Requirements to pay back its loans to Treasury.

The SIU probe is still ongoing and we await the final report, which will reveal the full extent of the abuses and financial mismanagement at the SABC. In the meantime, the information revealed thusfar is sufficient for the SABC board to act decisively to begin to reverse some of the damage done.

The SABC needs to create a stable working environment by replacing all the acting heads, including the CEO, with permanent positions. These must not be political appointees but fit-for-purpose individuals who are capable of rooting out the graft, resisting political interference and steering the SABC in the right direction.

Statement issued by Natasha Michael MP, DA Shadow Minister of Communications, September 15 2011

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