Interviews of candidates for South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Board: day 2

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Communications and Digital Technologies

21 August 2013
Chairperson: Mr E Kholwane (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

The Committee met to conduct interviews for the SABC Board. The following short-listed candidates were interviewed:
1. Mr John Matisson
2. Mr Lumko Mtimde
3. Ms Merle O’ Brien
4. Mr Mahmood Mia
5. Mr Martin Mhlanga
6. Prof. William Gumede
7. Mr Paul Serote
8. Mr Ronnie Lubisi

Meeting report

The Committee met to conduct interviews for vacancies on the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Board.

Interviews of Candidates for SABC Board
The following questions were asked to the short-listed candidates:

●Candidates were asked why they were the best candidates and why they deserved to be members of the SABC Board.
●Candidates were asked what their understanding was of the broadcasting environment in South Africa.
●They were asked to explain the role the Minister of Communications in relation to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) with regards to spectrum management and policy formulation.
●They were asked what needed to be done to make the communications spectrum and frequency more affordable and accessible to the public.
●Candidates were asked how they would make sure that there were mechanisms to promote diversity and development in the communications industry.
●Candidates were asked why they chose to serve on the SABC Board.
●They were asked what the role was of the SABC Board versus the Executive.
●They were asked what the role was of the Group CEO versus the Head of News.
●Candidates were asked if there were any problems with the SABC and how they would fix these.
●Candidates were asked which segments of the market were competing with SABC.
●They were asked what specific skills and experience they had that would add value to the SABC.
●They were asked how many operating divisions the SABC had and whether they were managed correctly.
●They were asked what percentage government was giving the SABC and whether it was sufficient.
●Candidates were asked what their understanding of the issues of corporate governance.
●They were asked whether was there anything that could disqualify them in terms of Section 16 the Broadcasting Act.
●They were asked what the relationship should be between the policy makers and ICASA to ensure that the service provided by the SABC was accessible to the public.
●They were asked whether it was necessary to pay TV licenses.
●They were asked were asked about Digital Terrestrial Television and how the digital migration would assist in terms of affordability
●They were asked about the funding model for the SABC whether the private sector could deliver better than government.
●Candidates were asked if they had an understanding of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
●Candidates were asked about the relationship between the SABC and ICASA.
●Candidates were asked if they would commit full-time to the SABC Board.
●They were asked how busy they were in other Boards of other companies.
●They were asked to explain their broadcasting experience.
●They were asked whether it was correct for the SABC to launch a 24 hour news channel on a rival channel DSTV and what they views were on the news channel.
●They were asked how they would deal with change management at the SABC.
●Candidates were asked if they were familiar with the King lll report which required members of boards to have necessary skills, and did they have enough skills to be part of the board.
●Candidates were asked about their knowledge of Section 5 of the Broadcasting Act, by explaining the role of the SABC in public broadcasting.
●They were asked how they would make the SABC profitable again.
●They were asked about the role of the SABC during the digital migration, and how digitisation could be used to the Corporation’s advantage.
●Candidates were asked about programming content and what the role the Corporation could play regionally.
●Candidates were asked about the relationship between the Minister of Communications and the Board of the SABC in terms of governance.
●Interviewees were asked whether the commercial and the public divisions of the SABC should be separated and give reasons why they thought so.
●Candidates were asked about the role of the Company Secretary in relation to the Board.
●Candidates were interrogated about the Broadcasting Charter and what it stood for.
●They were asked if they did any work for the SABC or if they planned to any in the future.
●Candidates were asked why previous Boards had failed to live up to expectations.
●Candidates were asked about the fiduciary role of the directors and the performance of the Audit Committee.
●They were asked whether the SABC respected the rights of musicians.
●They were asked how they would attract audiences to the SABC channels and radio stations that had lost viewers and listeners.
●Candidates were asked if they were team players and were able to work with people with different backgrounds and personalities.
●They were asked if the SABC should be classified as a Chapter 9 Institution.
●Candidates were asked if there was any middle income country with a successful public broadcaster.
●They were asked whether they had time to serve on the board considering their other commitments.
●Candidates were asked about the relevancy of Sentech to the SABC.
●Candidates were asked whether the Triple Inquiry Report had been implemented.


Refer to audio recording for all responses.
 

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