I am a benefit to the SABC, Hlaudi testifies

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On Wednesday, the High Court in Cape Town is due to hear an application brought by the DA to have Motsoeneng removed from the SABC.

The DA argues that Motsoeneng is an "unethical, manipulative fraudster who has destroyed any semblance of good corporate governance at the SABC".

However, in his court papers, Motsoeneng said "the facts show that my employment at the SABC has been beneficial to the SABC".

"I highlight that on my appointment as acting chief operations officer in 2011, I led a turnaround strategy that [reversed] the SABC’s dismal financial state which had reached levels requiring National Treasury to provide it with R1bn guarantee, and in the process saved over 800 jobs....

"Indeed, I mention that the first time that the SABC realised any profit was in 2013 under my stewardship when the SABC ended the financial year with a positive cash balance of R1.4bn," Motsoeneng said.

He also argued that he had every intention to apply for the position of chief operating officer should it be advertised.

"I remain competent and able to discharge such a function."

Motsoeneng lost his job as SABC chief operating officer in September after the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed his application for leave to appeal against a ruling by the Western Cape High Court, setting aside his permanent appointment.

The SABC then announced that it had reappointed him to his previous post of group executive for corporate affairs.

This precipitated the resignation of two board members in Parliament in October. The board has just one member left and Parliament is due to hold an inquiry to look into the crisis at the SABC later in November.

Motsoeneng said the courts should dismiss the DA’s application with costs, or at the least postpone the case.

He said Parliament was considering his appointment to the current position and the public protector’s report and therefore the DA’s application "seeks to pre-empt the outcome of the ad hoc committee’s inquiry".

The application also directly interfered with the principle of separation of powers, he said.

The DA’s application had not been delivered to him, which was "prejudicial", Motsoeneng added. The rules of the court provide that "a party may only apply to have a matter set down for hearing upon a full set of papers having been delivered", he said.

DA federal executive chairman James Selfe said on Tuesday the first part of the party’s application seeks to set aside the outcome of the SABC’s disciplinary inquiry, which cleared Motsoeneng of wrongdoing.

The second part deals with the DA’s application, lodged in October, to have Motsoeneng’s permanent position as group executive of corporate affairs declared invalid.

"It is high time that Motsoeneng’s toxic influence is removed from the SABC so that it can begin to repair the damage he has inflicted," said Selfe.

In October, the Western Cape High Court dismissed an application by the SABC for a stay of the DA’s case to review and set aside the disciplinary proceedings against Motsoeneng.

The disciplinary inquiry was one of the remedial actions directed by outgoing public protector Thuli Madonsela in her report When Governance and Ethics Fail.

The SABC had asked for a stay of the DA’s application to set it aside, pending its own court application to review Madonsela’s findings.

Source: Business Day