Parliament approves the 12 names for new SABC board

Parliament has finally approved the names of 12 candidates to be appointed to the new SABC board.

In a rare occurrence, the names were unanimously supported by all the parties in the National Assembly.

The names of Renee Horne, Tseliso Thipanyane, Khathutshelo Ramukumba, Franz Krüger, Nomvuyiso Batyi, Phathiswa Magopeni, Aifheli Makhwanya, Magdalene Moonsamy, Rearabetsoe Motaung, David Maimela, Dinkwanyane Mohuba and Mpho Tsedu, will be sent to President Cyril Ramaphosa for appointment.

The new SABC board will have its work cut out for it as the public broadcaster’s ability to remain in business is still in doubt due to crippling losses.  

Despite the public broadcaster more than halving its losses in the most recent financial year as management continued its battle to put the state-owned entity on a sustainable path, the auditor-general recently stated that a material uncertainty existed that may cast significant doubt on the public’s ability to continue as a going concern.

The company, which has previously been beset by governance and financial crises that took it to the brink of collapse, reported a net loss of R201m for the 2021/2022 financial year ended March 31, down from R530m the previous year. It expects to break even in 2022/2023 financial year.

The process of appointing the new nonexecutive directors has dragged on for months because of vetting delays at the State Security Agency (SSA).

The National Assembly’s portfolio committee on communications and digital technologies concluded interviews in mid-September, but the vetting of the 34 candidates interviewed by MPs was only completed in the last week of November.

This saw the term of the erstwhile board coming to an end on October 15 without a new board waiting in the wings.

Speaking in the debate on Tuesday, the ANC’s Lesiba Molala said while it may have taken some time to conclude the process, qualification verification, state security clearance and public participation were all essential.

Molala acknowledged that the broadcaster was going through a rough period as it faced financial losses, underperforming advertising revenue, declining audiences and poor licence fee collection.

“While the picture looks gloomy, it is worth mentioning that there are promising interventions in the pipeline for the SABC,” he said.

The DA’s Dianne Kohler Barnard said that while expertise should have been at the top of the must-have register, the ANC predictably resorted to “bean-counting” in terms of gender, race and age. “So much experience was lost,” she said.

During the selection of the final list of names, the ANC said it was guided by the principle of continuity, gender, performance in interviews, youth representation and minorities.

The assembly also adopted three additional names — Zolani Matthews, Palesa Kadi and Quentin Green — who would be considered for appointment if one of the 12 were no longer available.

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