Hlaudi Motsoeneng must go

In a recent reply to a parliamentary question the Minister of Communications, Yunus Carrim, has revealed that advertisements for the SABC Chief Operations Officer post have not been placed in the past year, despite assurances that the process would re-start by the end of 2013. 

This is due to the on-going legal wrangle with claimant, Mvuso Mbebe.

This means that controversial Acting COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng is likely to remain at the helm for some time, despite the Public Protector's recommendation that the Communications Minister "take urgent steps" to find a suitably qualified replacement to fill the post within 90 days (of 17 February 2014).

I have written to Minister Carrim again asking him to instruct the SABC Board to immediately suspend Mr Motsoeneng pending an enquiry and decision on his departure from the corporation. I asked for Mr Motsoeneng's suspension and replacement with a crisis management team when the Public Protector's report was initially released.

The Minister, in his position as shareholder representative for the SABC, has the obligation in terms of his ministry's Shareholder Compact with the board, the Companies Act, his Executive Authority in terms of the Public Finance Management Act and the Protocol on Corporate Governance in the Public Sector, to take firm action to protect the state's asset.

Under Mr Motsoeneng's tenure the SABC has:

Earned a disclaimer of opinion from the Auditor-General;

Entered into an Unethical and financially dubious deal with MultiChoice;

Staffed the SABC's upper management echelons with inadequately educated and experienced people;

Maintains and plans to expand a financially unsustainable head count;

Fallen behind in the transition to digital terrestrial television; and

Continues to lose audience share.

Mr Motsoenenng should have been fired long ago. 

I urge Minister Carrim, with the backing of his Cabinet colleagues, to excise the destructive leadership at the broadcaster before the damage becomes terminal.

Statement issued by Marian Shinn MP, DA Shadow Minister of Communications, March 13 2014

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