TIME TO CLOSE THE CHAPTER ON SABC BOARD REMOVALS

23 June 2015

The ANC study group within the National Assembly’s portfolio committee on communications has taken a decision to close the matter between the portfolio committee and the minister of communications regarding the legal opinion on the removal of SABC board members.

The decision was taken following a discussion on the issue between the minister and members of parliament during a meeting of the communications committee this morning.

The ANC is satisfied with the minister’s explanation that she and the SABC board followed all the relevant laws and procedures when several non-executive directors of the public broadcaster were removed from their positions a few months ago and that there had been no illegal conduct on their part.

Since we have received no formal complaints from those who may have felt that they had been treated unfairly, we are of the view that it is time to close this chapter and allow the minister of communications space to continue with her work on the SABC and ensure that it delivers on its mandate.

As the ANC, we have taken adequate steps to resolve this matter and it’s now time to move onto other pressing matters that also demand the urgent attention of the portfolio committee.

We reject in the strongest possible terms the assertion by some opposition parties that this decision amounts to a “U-turn” on our part following a presentation of a legal opinion on the matter by parliamentary legal advisors last month.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The committee at the time took no other decision except to seek an engagement with the minister on this matter before deciding the way forward, which is exactly what transpired at today’s meeting.

But true to their predictable character, the opposition parties, in the form of the DA and the EFF, sought to grandstand and make all sorts of frivolous accusations against the ANC component of the communications committee in another desperate attempt to secure prominent coverage in the media.

Statement issued by Dikeledi Tsotetsi, Acting Chairperson of the ANC Study Group on Communications, June 23 2015