CWU SUPPORTS SABC BOARD!
18 October 2010
The Communications Workers Union (CWU) notes the heinous and libel public statement concocted by MKMVA National Chairperson in defense of the suspended SABC Group Chief Executive Officer and his personal friend Mr. Solly Mokoetle on 15 October 2010.
It is hard to accept and believe that the National Chairperson of our glorious and people's army, uMkhonto we Sizwe, will abuse the organizations platform to defend a personal friend for his incompetence and maladministration at the public broadcaster.
We strongly believe that the MKMVA should be focusing more on improving the living conditions of our military veterans and the continued onslaught faced by soldiers as a result of the ruling elite's agenda to deunionize the defense force. The struggles of MKMVA are not in Mokoetle or any other former MKMVA self-inflicted suspension and ineptitude to deliver at the SABC or service deliver.
We call on MKMVA members to ask the National Chairperson to publicly retract his statement which defends his personal friend.
As CWU, we still support the actions taken by the SABC Board to suspend the GCEO in the interests of stability and good corporate governance at the public broadcaster. We also call on the public not to be co-opted into this agenda as led by MKMVA which is lurched to defocus the Board from carrying its mandate on behalf of all South Africans.
We are convinced that MKMVA National Chairperson is abusing and bullying MKMVA to defend the suspended GCEO and other friends of him who he claimed to be former MKMVA.
We are also saddened to hear that another board member, Cde David Niddrie has resigned from the SABC. This brings the total to four resignations. We feel that the Board has not been given sufficient support from the appropriate oversight structures including Parliament. The Board has been very clear that there have been corporate governance breaches particularly around the appointment of the Head of News.
We call on Parliament to investigate the governance crises at the SABC including all corporate governance breaches. Parliament needs to take strong action. Also, Parliament must investigate progress on the SABC's critical turn-around strategy. We cannot let the SABC fall into the dire final situation it fell into in 2009. Further, Parliament must move swiftly to either convince board members to stay or to fill these critical gaps.
For the majority of people in South Africa the SABC is the primary source of news, current affairs and programming. We cannot afford to fail the majority of South Africans in terms of their important information needs.
CWU is also supporting the Minister's review of the salaries of board members and Directors of the SABC and SENTECH. The Department of Communications (DoC) should continue to monitor the progress at both state owned entities. We are still waiting the announcement of the new SENTECH CEO and we will make a pronouncement in due course to relevant structures.
Statement issued by Matankana Mothapo, CWU National Spokesperson, October 18 2010
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