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The Labour Court’s determination that SABC COO, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, acted “unlawfully” when he purged four of the SABC should see him suspended and fired once and for all.

This is the latest in a laundry list of scathing indictments by several courts including the Western Cape High Court more than once, The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) and now the Labour Court.

This is clear evidence that the President should accede to the DA’s urgent request that he establish a Judicial Commission of Inquiry in terms of section 84(2)(f) of the Constitution. This Commission should probe Mostsoeneg’s gross misconduct and his fitness to hold office before ultimately recommending that he be fired once and for all.

In addition to this Parliament must now heed this wakeup call and immediately convene an urgent sitting of the Communications Portfolio Committee. Failure to do so by ANC Chief Whip, Jackson Mthembu, will make Parliament complicit in the erosion of the public broadcaster and make Parliament and accessory to this chilling of free speech.

We will again request that this Committee be convened now and no later. If ANC Chief Whip fails to do so it will see Jackson Mthembu in his fairly new role as the ANC’s Chief waste a valuable opportunity to safeguard Parliament in its oversight function.

He will be just like past ANC Chief Whips who have failed Parliament, failed the Constitution and failed the people of South Africa.

He must do what is right by not only Parliament, but by the SABC.

What is happening at the public broadcaster is prime example of the systemic party capture, which continues to take shape in our country.

The SABC joins the long line of captured institutions, including the Hawks, the NPA and SARS, which serve, not the people of South Africa, but at the behest of President Jacob Zuma and the ANC.

Mr Mthembu and President Jacob Zuma failures to act will make it complicit in the erosion of the independence of yet another public institution.

Issued by DA