Molefe's appointment: minister intervenes but SOS 'resents' Ngubane

"He must resign because he can no longer be trusted to lead the SABC," coalition spokesperson Kate Skinner said yesterday, Monday, 28 June 2010.

Clear breach

Skinner believes that Ngubane's unilateral decision to appoint Molefe amounted to a clear breach of corporate governance - a serious offence that cannot be laid to rest 'just like that'. Nyanda intervened promptly to quell what looked like the start of a 'rebellion' of board members against their chairperson. Since then, some insiders said things have not gone back to normal between the chair and his fellow board members, despite reports that the crisis was over.

The SABC, which some critics describe as the state's propaganda machine, continues to be marred by political interference, and the minister's latest intervention in the Molefe saga will do nothing but strengthen critics' case.

"Ideally, the minister should not be playing an interventionist role. The SABC is a public, not a state broadcaster, and the board should govern the affairs of the corporation."

Interviewing process will continue

As Molefe's permanent appointment is set aside, the process of interviewing candidates will continue where it left off until a suitable candidate is found and appointed, the board said. Furthermore, the SOS would like to know what action is being taken against CEO Solly Mokoetle, who it said initially implemented Ngubane's illegal decision to appoint Molefe as head of news.

Mokoetle, seen by many as Ngubane's 'accomplice' in this saga, reportedly introduced Molefe to news staff even after the board stated clearly that Molefe's appointment was illegal.

Meanwhile, Skinner slammed what she called the SABC's "very serious allegations of censorship" engendered by the Molefe saga. She called on the board to investigate the role of the three musketeers, Ngubane, Mokoetle and Molefe, in these censorship allegations.

"Censored"

"We noted that the SABC board deputy chair was censored when commenting on the appointment of the head of news. Furthermore, it appears that certain unions and non-governmental organisations' pre-recorded radio interviews were spiked as they critically commented on the appointment," she said.

These unions and NGOs include COSATU and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA).

Lastly, SOS said it duly regrets the resignation of the head of radio news, who was allegedly reprimanded for airing the board's statement clarifying Molefe's illegal appointment.

"Illegally disciplined"

"For taking this editorially sound decision she was then illegally disciplined, which allegedly led to her decision to take early retirement."

This is the second time that the coalition has called on Ngubane to resign and it remains unclear what the group intends to do if he does not go. However, one thing is for sure: Ngubane remains on the edge, and could face a popular uprising in the near future as his integrity is seriously damaged.

Watch this space!