The contentious Broadcasting Amendment Bill has been amended after President Kgalema Motlanthe refused to sign it into law, the parliamentary portfolio committee on communications said on Friday.

Chairman Ismail Vadi of the ANC said the committee met on Thursday effecting two amendments to the bill which, in effect, provided for "proper enquiry by parliament" before a decision to remove any members of the SABC board is taken.

The bill, tabled in November last year, was slammed by opposition parties who claim the post-Polokwane ANC leadership want to use it to get rid of the current board, which was appointed by former president Thabo Mbeki shortly before he was ousted as party president by Jacob Zuma.

The ruling party's allies, the Congress of SA Trade Unions and the SA Communist Party have been vocal in their support of the bill, saying it paved the way for the removal of the current "unrepresentative board" to transform the SABC into a "truly public broadcaster".

The bill makes it possible for Parliament to sack either individuals on the SABC board or the board as a whole.

It then became a sticking point between the ANC and President Kgalema Motlanthe when, earlier this month, he delayed and then refused to sign it into law, citing reservations about its constitutionality.

Vadi said the amendments to the bill provided for "fair and just administrative action" prior to any decision on the removal of board members, including an enquiry into whether the board "failed to discharge its fiduciary duties" or failed to perform its duties as required by law.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), who along with the Inkatha Freedom Party and the Freedom Front Plus petitioned the president to send the contentious bill back to parliament, cited the amendments as a victory.

"We welcome the amendments which will ensure due enquiry before any action against the board can be taken... however, we still believe that sacking an entire board is destructive to the independence of the public broadcaster.

"How can the SABC board protect editorial independence with a sword hanging over their heads," said DA member of the committee, Dene Smuts.

She added, however, that she believed the current board would withstand any attempts to dissolve it if it faced an enquiry.

"I am confident the board will emerge fit after an enquiry, it is not an Mbeki board, it was approved by all of us," she said.

The bill will be debated in the national assembly next Tuesday and then sent back to Motlanthe to be signed into law.