Newly appointed Communications Minister Roy Padayachie pledged on Wednesday to support the SABC's embattled board members as they try to resolve financial and leadership instability at the broadcaster.

"It is clear from what happened that there are issues pertaining to leadership in the organisation," he told the National Assembly during question time.

"So the problem is giving support to the remaining members of the board to find a mechanism in which they want to address this instability."

Padayachie, who replaced Siphiwe Nyanda in the portfolio ten days ago, was speaking ahead of a meeting with the board on Thursday to discuss its financial turnaround strategy for the public broadcaster.

The board had been due to brief MPs on Wednesday on the turnaround plan but Padayachie confirmed that this had been postponed to give the department a chance "to see it before it comes to Parliament".

Last month the board was given a tongue-lashing by Parliament's portfolio committee on communications for failing to present a performance review for the first half of this financial year and a report on the functionality of the board.

In addition, the committee sharply reminded board members to approach their responsibilities seriously and selflessly.

The board was appointed at the beginning of the year with the task of lifting the SABC out of a debt crisis of more than R800-million.

But tension soon emerged with chairman Ben Ngubane and CEO Solly Mokoetle after Phil Molefe was imposed as head of news.

Mokoetle was suspended by Ngubane in August, and the rift between board members and Ngubane has not been repaired.

Four board members have quit in recent weeks, reportedly in frustration that the communications ministry did not respond rapidly to calls to help resolve the latest crisis at the SABC.