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The Portfolio Committee on Communications has received a letter from President Cyril Ramaphosa, as a referral from the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Baleka Mbete, in which the President informed the National Assembly that he has, in terms of section 15 (2) of the Broadcasting Act of 1999, accepted the resignations of the four non-executive board members of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
 
The committee is concerned about the fact that not only do the resignations come at a time when it was in a process of filling the other four vacancies, but also they left the remaining board without a quorum. Therefore, it urged the executive management to steer the public broadcaster in the best interest of the country and in accordance with legislations while the committee moves with speed to fill all the eight vacancies.
 
The Chairperson of the committee, Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize, said since the criteria for qualifying to be a board member remains the same, the committee will rely on the existing advertisement that is out in the public to fill all the eight vacancies as a matter of urgency.
 
“The Broadcasting Act, No 4 of 1999, is clear on what number constitute a full complement of the SABC board. There must be fifteen members, in which twelve are non-executive and three executive, including the Group Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer,” said Prof Mkhize.
 
Prof Mkhize further reiterated the committee’s long-held view that exit interviews should be conducted with board members who resign before their term of office expires in order to ascertain the real motive.
 
She thanked Ms Khanyisile Kweyama; Mr John Matisonn; Mr Krish Naidoo and Mr Mathatha Tsedu for the role they played at the SABC and wished them well in their future endeavours.

Issued by The Parliamentary Communication Services On Behalf Of The Chairperson Of The Portfolio Committee On Communications, Prof. Hlengiwe Mkhize