SABC inquiry chair 'dismayed' by document leak

18th January 2017 By: News24Wire

SABC inquiry chair 'dismayed' by document leak

The chairperson of the parliamentary ad hoc committee looking into the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board is "dismayed" that a working document from the inquiry has been leaked.

The document was meant to aid MPs during deliberations about the inquiry process on Thursday and Friday, ad hoc committee chairperson Vincent Smith said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The working document was prepared as a foundation upon which a constructive meeting of the committee and deliberations will commence, and it was drafted for that purpose only," Smith said.

"It has no standing as an official document of the committee until deliberations are exhausted, possibly by Friday."

He did not say who he thought was responsible for the leak, or its consequences for the committee's work.

African Christian Democratic Party MP and ad hoc committee member Steve Swart told News24 on Wednesday that the working document had no legal standing yet. He expected it to be amended substantially when the committee met on Thursday.

Democratic Alliance MP Phumzile van Damme said in a statement on Wednesday that the party was studying the working document. The draft was a "good start", but more work was needed, she said.

The working document contains recommendations of forensic probes into allegations that several witnesses at the committee had made about deals between SABC, MultiChoice, and the Gupta-owned The New Age.