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Minister of Communications Dina Pule has requested that the SABC board suspends the current search for a new Chief Operating Officer and “follows a normal and wider executive appointment process.”

The Minister’s position on this issue should be welcomed.

Reports yesterday indicated that Hlaudi Motsoeneng, a Zuma loyalist with neither a matric certificate nor sufficient management experience, was set to be appointed as the SABC’s Chief Operations Officer (COO) after a highly irregular recruitment process.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) yesterday urged the Minister to act swiftly to prevent Mr Motsoeneng’s appointment. We highlighted that the Minister needed to meet urgently with the SABC board to interrogate the recruitment process that led to Mr Motsoeneng being earmarked for the COO post, and to see that he was removed from the list of potential candidates.

A strong, independent leadership team is needed to get the SABC back on track after years of instability, poor financial management and political meddling.

The Minister’s response is a step in the right direction. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.