PICTURE: GALLO IMAGES SABC boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng overruled his staff to push through a R167-million contract with a production company co-owned by President Jacob Zuma's daughter Gugu Zuma-Ncube.The chief operating officer reversed a recommendation by a review panel of six members, who had decided not to renew the popular Uzalo drama series for a second season.Their concerns were that there was no proper business plan, the budget was "about 10 times that of a 13-part series" and there had been problems during the show's first season with "writing, aesthetics and delivery". It was originally bought as a limited-season "telenovela and that format ends at some stage, it's not a soap".But when Motsoeneng heard about the decision, he stepped in and the three-year contract was "negotiated and signed off" within a week.News of Motsoeneng's intervention comes amid a growing backlash against him following his decision that violent protests should not be covered on SABC news programmes, and ...
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