‘Dying' SABC board at crossroads

Khumalo told Bizcommunity.com today, Friday, 12 June 2009: “Yes, I have resigned from the board. The SABC needs a fresh start. More members are going to resign and certainly Parliament will intervene to appoint a new board so that all the legal and liquidation processes can stop and the organisation can get on in fulfilling its mandate as a public broadcaster.

“I will speak to you later, I have a meeting with the minister [of communications] and I am running late,” he added.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said: “They have resigned through the Department of Communications, not through us, so we won't be issuing a statement as we did with Christina because she sent us a letter of resignation.”

Due to meet with Nyanda

Minister of Communications Siphiwe Nyanda was due to meet with the rest of the ‘dying' board this morning to express his concerns about the latest developments, including the infighting and mistrust between board members and the ‘illegal' appointment of Ashwin Trikamjee as interim board chairperson.

Legal experts had said that in terms of the law, only the head of state has the power to appoint the board chair. Trikamjee was appointed after Kanyi Mkonza resigned from her position.

Contacted to confirm the meeting, ministerial spokesperson Tiyani Rikhotso told Bizcommunity.com: “When I checked earlier on, the meeting was going ahead, but I have just landed from Cape Town and I can't confirm that right now. Call me later.”

Jane Duncan, Highway Africa chair of media and information society, said: “Yes, this is definitely the end for the board, which has been operating unlawfully and now has to be dissolved. It cannot take decisions, and Parliament must intervene by law. There was a time when the problems at the SABC seemed to be intractable, as they were simply impervious to criticism.

“Better and stronger SABC”

“The leadership change at Polokwane cracked this situation open like a nut. I am very optimistic that we can now achieve a much better and stronger SABC.

“There are many excellent people, and the kind of issues and programmes on the broadcaster cannot be seen or heard on any other media: this is why it is worth fighting for the soul of the SABC.”

Duncan added: “Rightfully, board members should have refused to take up their positions in the first place, because the appointment process was corrupted by the political intervention of Luthuli house.

“There is an unbreakable thread between the corruption of the appointment process and the failure of the board to perform its fiduciary duties effectively, in that a climate of impunity was created where board members felt they could do as they pleased.

“Reaping the whirlwind”

“They sowed the wind, and are now reaping the whirlwind. May this be a lesson to all future presidents not to interfere in board appointment processes.”

Duncan also said that the fact that former SABC CEO Dali Mpofu has won his court case is but one more indication that the board has failed to fulfill its fiduciary duties.

Asked what is likely to happen next Thursday in Parliament, when Minister Nyanda will be summoned to explain the SABC circus, Duncan said: “Parliament will select an interim board, and set plans in motion to advertise for new more permanent board members, as the interim board can last for only six months. There is no other way of resolving the impasse.”

For more:

• IOL: SABC board members quit… In their joint statement announcing their resignation, the three board members said their action was in the ‘public interest'.
  
• Mail & Guardian Online: SABC implodes... Now it's come out that the broadcaster owes SuperSport almost R100m.
  
• Business Day: SABC board voiceless, on its last legs... The resignation of three more board members yesterday could be the final nail in the coffin for the beleaguered board.
  
• Mail & Guardian Online: Business unusual... As retrenchments loom there's a new spirit apparent among media professionals.

[Prof Guy Berger's Converse column]