SABC and Independent Communications Authority of SA: Skills Audit briefings

This premium content has been made freely available

Communications and Digital Technologies

04 February 2014
Chairperson: Mr S Kholwane (ANC)
Share this page:

Meeting Summary

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) noted that it was currently involved with structural re alignment, including a skills audit, to ensure the closure of the skills gap and the augmentation of existing skills to better enable ICASA to fulfil its strategy. The current organisational structure was being reviewed against the mandate of ICASA. There had been benchmarking against local and international similar structures. Consultation had been done with organised labour. The process and the time lines necessary to deliver were presented, noting the intention to finalise by end March. The costing exercise was the last phase, but the whole exercise was premised on setting up a structure that was informed by the strategy of the organisation, and then assessing what skills were required. It was intended to recognise a dual stream in career development, as opposed to the current structure which only catered for development in the managerial field. ICASA was regarded as a technical entity so specialists should have prospects of upward mobility, to encourage them to stay in ICASA. The level of progression runs should be commensurate with approved remuneration levels. It was, however, suggested that the proper balance between the specialist and managerial roles would envisage a 15% cap on specialists. The placement of employees would follow an objective process, using skills and competency matching. The progress to date included the review of the current structure and job profiles. Formalisation of the ICASA project leader and team had been completed, and a steering committee set up. Interviews with senior and general management around the current and anticipated structures had taken place. The current skills shortages, with a special focus on engineers, were outlined. Members firstly questioned why no Board Members of ICASA were present, noting that although this meeting coincided with one of the ICASA board, the latter would have a quorum with five members, so four were still available to brief this Committee. This was particularly serious since the presenters today had only held their positions since November 2013. Members asked if there had been external audits, to ensure arms-length, wondered if capping the percentage of specialists was useful, and questioned, firstly, whether the process really could be completed by March, and stressed the need for ongoing progress reports to both this Committee and its successor in the next Parliament. They would have like to see specific dates mentioned, asked how much money was set aside for this process, and would have liked more background information. They questioned the benchmarking exercise, wondered if the propositions on development of salary bands were the best, and if there were currently lacunas in remuneration determination processes, asked whether any surveys had been done on why ICASA had difficulties in attracting and retaining engineering staff, and if change management had been incorporated into the process. Members asked if National Treasury had approved the proposed salary bills, what was done about transfer of skills, whether partnerships with other countries might be possible, and thought that this exercise should have been done much earlier, in view of the fact that research had been conducted on the problems some years before. Members urged that real solutions were now needed, and expected another progress report at the end of February.

The South African Broadcasting Association (SABC) Board noted that the report it would present had been outsourced to PriceWaterhouseCoopers, as this process had been considered more credible than an internal one. An audit had been done to list critical and scarce skills, whereafter personnel development plans would be drawn, and organisational training undertaken. A skills and competency report for the entire organisation and qualification authentification reports were included. The main purpose was to ensure that SABC had the requisite skills for the migration from analogue to digital platforms. The results were that although there were skills in-house, augmentation of these skills, and raising of the standard, would be necessary. The skills audit, of both permanent and free lance staff, formed part of an overarching HR strategy, linked to the corporate strategy of the SABC, and would be followed through by board committees. It was noted that individuals were now being paired and mentored, and were also being sent for training as well as on-the-job training, whilst the lack of qualifications in the broadcasting field was being addressed by partnerships with training institutions, drawing on examples in other countries. Most employees’ qualifications had been verified, but some were still outstanding and some files could not be found, so records were being improved. New managerial staff had been appointed. The new Board had adopted the organisational strategy for the next three years, and change management specialists would be brought in. By the end of the next six months, all personnel would be re-aligned, with the longer term view to be implemented within the following three years. Members wondered what the SABC had been doing for the past eight years, which included a turnaround strategy and loan guarantee already, and were very concerned that the digitisation deadline was looming, yet there were still inadequate skills or equipment. Criticisms were expressed on the integrity testing, the fact that 124 staff files were non-existent, yet presumably those staff were being paid, and one Member believed that the current executive management was incapable of leading the SABC’s turnaround, requiring urgent action by the Minister. Some Members expressed their support for on-the-job training but asked if it resulted in any qualifications and by whom it would be done. Clarity was sought (but not given) on the position of the Group CEO’s contract. Members insisted that outstanding skills audits must be completed now, and questioned whether self-rating assessments were credible. They enquired what progress had been made since July 2013, commented that precise dates were needed, and the costs.
 

Meeting report

The Chairperson gave the apologies of the Minister and Deputy Minister.

The appointment of  Mr Bonakele to the Competition Commission was mentioned.

Minutes
Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)Briefing on Skills Audit

It was noted, at the outset, that the Chairperson of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) Council had said that, in view of the fact that its own council was meeting today, councillors were unable to be present. The Chairperson was ill and had apologised.

Mr Pakamile Pongwana, Chief Executive Officer, ICASA, noted that the structural re-alignment and skills audit had been on ICASA’s agenda for some time but had unfortunately not yet been implemented. Both the CEO and the General Manager of Human Resources had only assumed their positions on 1 November 2013.  This presentation would describe the process and the time lines necessary to deliver in terms of the skills audit. It was premised on building a structure that was informed by the strategy of the organisation, so the skills for the future would be assessed, and that was something presently being done with the General Manager of Human Resources. In July 2013 a consultant was appointed by ICASA to assist in some of these processes, on the understanding that once the CEO and General Manager for HR were appointed, the exercise would be finalised.

Ms R Morutoa (ANC) interjected at this point. She was not pleased about the lack of attendance of non executive members of ICASA, nor the fact that the Chairperson had condoned it. This presentation was being given at a time when this Committee was preparing to hand over, and it needed closure on important issues.

Ms A Muthambi (ANC) concurred

Ms J Kilian (COPE) pointed out that the quorum for an ICASA council meeting was only five of the nine members, and so it was perfectly possible for the others to have attended this Committee meeting.

The Chairperson noted the concerns raised.

Ms Busi Mtsweni, General Manager: Human Resources, ICASA, continued with the presentation. She reiterated that ICASA was currently involved with an organisational re alignment, of which the requested skills audit formed part. This was being done to close any skills gap, an then to augment existing skills to better enable ICASA to fulfil its strategy. The current organisational structure was being reviewed against the mandate of ICASA.

The process involved consultation with organised labour in the form of the communications workers union, in relation to labour legislation and impending agreements which impacted ICASA. Organised labour, as well as senior management, were then engaged on ensuring the organogram was suited to serve the purpose of the newly developed ICASA strategy. The restructuring strategy entailed four phases. The first was the review of the existing strategy, the second was the job evaluation process, the third was the development of a new remuneration structure, and the last phase would develop the costing structure. Phase 1 comprised a comparative study of similar international regulators, the converged regulators such as the French, British and Australian media authorities, to ensure that ICASA was in line with global benchmarks. Comparisons were also carried out on a local level, as the Competition Commission and National Lotteries and other regulators of state owned entities were considered.

The next phase of job evaluation required that job descriptions of all the existing positions be reviewed to determine whether they were still relevant, in terms of ICASA’s projected deliverables. Where they were found to be irrelevant the job descriptions would be amended to reflect the skills needed in ICASA. Job evaluations were thus carried out to ensure the level and correct grading of jobs in order to attract the desired personnel at the end of the restructuring process. Based on the newly developed job profiles, a skills audit would then be undertaken to determine the existing competency levels in ICASA. A pertinent question at that point was also whether ICASA was competitive in terms of remuneration. Current employee salaries were also benchmarked according to the market values and best practice methods. Working conditions were evaluated to ensure compliance with labour legislation.

She repeated that Phase 4 comprised the costing of the structure, which would warrant a comparison with similar organisations, considering the dual career path strategy to be followed regarding specialist fields and managerial fields. Further, the labour budget then would be premised on either a holistic approach, or in a staggered way, depending on the financial implications of the restructuring process. Information sharing workshops, project feedback as well as progress reports would be completed, resulting in a communication plan which would be presented to staff members. HR workshops and development sessions would be conducted, to manage the expectations of organised labour, the Council and employees in general around the process and progress of the project, to achieve transparency and skills transfer.

She said that the progress to date included the review of the current structure and job profiles. Formalisation of the ICASA project leader and team had been completed, and a steering committee set up. Interviews with senior and general management around the current and anticipated structures had taken place.

The proposed career path spoke to the development of a dual stream in career development as opposed to the current structure,  which only catered for development in the managerial field. ICASA was regarded as a technical entity and specialists were needed, so it was important for specialists to have prospects of upward mobility to encourage them to stay within ICASA. The skills audit would assist in that process by ensuring that, whilst fulfilling the dual stream career path objectives, none of the processes required by the job profiles were compromised. Subsequently, a plan was devised on how to filter the employees in both managerial and specialists career streams. The normal placement and recruitment policy would apply in the situation where one stream had attracted more skills than the other. Further, the level progression runs would be consummate to the remuneration level, based on the approved remuneration strategy. A balance was to be kept between the specialist and managerial roles, with a cap on specialists at 15% .The placement of employees would take place according to the level descriptors prescribed by the requirements for each post, to ensure objectivity in placements and skills and competency matching.

The process was targeted to end by 31 March 2014, when an ideal structure should have been completed and set in place. And by that date, honourable Members would be in a position to know what to expect form ICASA.

Mr Pongwana elucidated on the skills shortages and mentioned that the engineering and technology department had 76 vacancies. There was presently a complement of 53. Of that number, only four were engineers. At the next level, for junior degree holders, there were no engineers, but there were about ten diploma holders. In the markets and competition division, where the skills required include costing specialists, accounting specialists and economists, there were three staff. He highlighted that the cardinal question thus became what the desired objectives, to be achieved between 2015 and 2019 were, in relation to the organisational restructuring strategy. Essentially, that would be anything that grew the industry and ensured better services. Taking policies such as the broadband data policy and others into account, there would be a need for involved, serious skills. There was a need to create an organisation that had the capacity to measure the ability of South African networks in relation to the requirements of stated goals and policies, something that ICASA was not capacitated to do at present.

Discussion
The Chairperson prefaced the discussion by referring to ICASA’s oversight proceedings and highlighted the skills shortages, asking for an explanation of how exactly the regulator planned to deal with such shortcomings.

Ms Kilian remarked that she welcomed the opportunity to finally witness the unfolding strategy of the regulator. She asked whether there had been any auditing firm or HR consultancy used in the process. This was relevant because such processes were difficult to conduct at arm’s length, and internal resistance may have been encountered. In light of the nature of the industry, where special skills were required but currently were clearly inadequate, as illustrated by the shortage of engineers, she wondered if putting a 15% cap on specialists would be correct, and asked how this compared to international models. Finally, as Parliament would be rising earlier than the end of March 2014, some feedback would be welcomed, to assist this Committee in drafting its Legacy Report, in addition to formulating the concept of an effective regulator for Members who had raised these issues over the last five years. She wondered, finally, if the deadline of 31 March was feasible, given that so many of the steps were yet to be embarked upon.

Ms R Lesoma (ANC) thought the intentions of ICASA seemed promising, yet was worried that the Act, which empowered the Council to delegate some functions to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), including section 14, in respect of administrative functions pertaining to employees, may have short-changed ICASA, as it was the Council who comprised technically skilled members, a point picked up during oversight.  Further, she wondered if the descriptor ‘re-structuring’ was not an understatement, as the process was in fact just shy of a turnaround strategy. Commenting on the end date set for 31 March 2014 she said it would have been helpful to have a schedule, with exact dates indicating the commencement and completion of the segmented phases. She asked how much was set aside for the organisational review as well as the job profile restructuring, as it was indicated that the pay structure would change. She would have like to have seen a preface to the presentation outlining the reasons for the restructuring process and the view of the Council.

Mr Pongwana explained that the merger of former structures SATRA and IBA had never been integrated, so in fact the efficient running of the whole structure was yet to be addressed. Part of the difficulties may have been formed by the differences between the ICASA council and the former CEO, and the distribution of the regulatory divisions reporting to different councillors. That fragmentation had, however, now been addressed as the Council had transferred those responsibilities to the CEO.

Mr A Steyn (DA) asked where the process was today, 4 February, given that it was supposed to be completed by 31 March. He too was worried about the suggestion for a 15% cap, if it applied across the whole staff complement, pointing out that most of ICASA’s work required highly technical skills. He would prefer that this percentage might be used as a target, but remain flexible depending on ICASA’s needs. He remarked that a review of existing strategy could only take place against another end product, and asked how the review of documents was conducted, and against what benchmark. He also wanted to know what was meant by “job writing training” mentioned in the fourth phase. He wondered if it might not be preferable to depart from a global salary figure or salary budget, and then proceed downward toward salary bands, as the impression given was that the salary bands would be determined initially. He also wanted to know if the intention in phase 3 to develop a remuneration strategy was an indication of a current lacuna, or merely a reworking of the current structure. Examples of organisations that did similar work and who might have been used in the benchmarking process were requested.

Mr Pakamile spoke to the concern that the costing procedure had been done back-to-front, and said that costing against the desired end state, with the particular skills taken into account, had been done. Part of ICASA’s current problem was that costing based on a desired end state which required particular skills. Part of the problem was that the issues of remuneration had never been resolved.

Ms Mtsweni confirmed that the 15% benchmark was a global figure, but was flexible to the extent that it would be informed by the revised structure. The issue of job grading training stemmed from the indication of a need to train managers in creating job profiles that would attract individuals specifically suited to the vacancy.

Ms M Shinn (DA) asked for the name of the consultant used. She too commented on the shortage of engineer staff, and asked whether ICASA had conducted a survey as to why it was not an employer of choice among the engineering fraternity, and what corrective measures would be taken. She also questioned the feasibility of the 31 March end-date. Since change had an effect on employees, she enquired whether a change management process was part of the restructuring. Finally, she asked if  National Treasury had approved the envisaged revised salary bill.

Mr Pongwana stated that ICASA was unable to recruit talent at market related prices, and in relation to the remuneration policy there was currently no incentive for upward mobility as salaries remained virtually unchanged. That was the dimension of the challenge, but it was not to say that it could not be addressed. Quality of service could not be delivered when the capacity required to measure it was not there.

Ms W Newhoudt-Druchen (ANC) had similar concerns to those raised by her colleagues. She noted that of the four phases, only one was completed to date. She wanted more clarity on what the local and international benchmarking criteria entailed. She asked what ICASA was doing internally about the transfer of skills. Furthermore, where there was a shortage of engineers, for instance, she asked if it was possible to enter any partnerships that could be entered into with other countries or institutions to train and produce qualified engineers. She asked how ICASA could ensure that skills were required to address the accreditation of devices entering the country which needed to be accredited by ICASA.

Mr Pongwana stated that the local industries used to benchmark against consisted of National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), and the National Lotteries Board, with a focus on remuneration of employees.

Ms Muthambi noted the lack of progress and the fact that the indicators seemed to be that the project was yet to be undertaken. The shortage of engineers, as now admitted to by ICASA, was an indication that ICASA was using consultants to carry out its work. This was a problem, as the Committee was concerned about the over reliance on consultants. She enquired whether ICASA was not delivering its mandate at present, and what were the deficiencies of the current strategy. The presentation was based on prior information to which this Committee was not privy, and she agreed that more background would have assisted the Committee immensely. She asked if the tasks anticipated were to be completed in-house or through the use of consultants. Finally, she asked what the anticipated outcome was, in relation to the skills audit.

Ms Mtsweni explained that the use of service providers was considered to be in line with the directive issued by National Treasury in January 2014. The use of consultants had been a regular occurrence, which was why ICASA had a lean HR unit, but it was now recognised that that tendency needed to be changed, and money redirected towards internal job creation.

Ms Morutoa commented that there was a sense of stagnation and lack of progress, so she wondered what had been happening to date. This still seemed to be describing a “start-up operation” whereas ICASA should have been much further down the line, given the length of time for which these problems had persisted.

Mr Pongwana responded that there had been previous research, such as the Adam Smith report, 21st Century Report, and a contract with PE Corporate Services. The Adam Smith Report was completed but never implemented. ICASA was of the opinion that the time line it had given itself to complete the restructuring was feasible as most of the foundation work had been done.

The current position was that a structure would be proposed to the Council, whereas previously there had been engagement with whole employee base. Unfortunately that led to an instance where a consultant had engaged with the staff without the senior management being present, but that was subsequently rectified. 

The first part of the strategy had been approved by ICASA. It had been tabled, but needed to be reviewed then tabled again for final approval. It was expected that the structure would have been done before the   end of February. This led to the costing. Once it was determined what type of requirements would be necessary, it was then determined what type of resources would be necessary. It was anticipated that it would prove more costly than the existing structure, but that would be mitigated by elimination of the use of consultants. A progress report at the end of February, and at the end of March, would then be provided.

Mr C Kekana (ANC) decried the pervasive issue of scarce skills, noting that it was so serious that government had even addressed it. He required that a solution-orientated approach be adopted, instead of constantly bemoaning the same issues. He asked what ICASA was now doing to grow or source engineers.

Mr Pongwana explained that the example of the shortage of engineers was used to illustrate the need for ICASA to ask itself how it had been functioning, with the resources it held. He said that there was a need to create better synergy between the Council and ICASA staff on administrative issues, and said the Committee might be able to assist in that regard.

The Chairperson noted that this report reflected a work in progress and the reality of problems previously noted by the Committee around the poor quality of service. He assumed that a final report may be tabled after the Fifth Parliament had been established, but unfortunately not within the tenure of the current Committee. The CEO was advised to deal seriously with the matter to come up with an ideal structure that would assist the South African economy, and to only look at the issues within the constraints of the budget.

Ms Letsoma said that whilst it was understandable that Mr Pakamile could not respond adequately to all questions posed, given that he had only held his position for three months, full administrative authority had been delegated to his office recently. Reports such as the 21st Century Report had set out detailed timeframes, and these could have been used to substantiate the end date of 31 March 2014. She repeated that a Councillor of ICASA should have been present to address the Committee.

Mr Kekana remarked that it was a foregone conclusion that there would be inequalities between private and public sector remuneration. The question to be resolved was how to attract adequate skills,  regardless of such inequalities, and he referred to examples of other developing countries who experienced the same public –private sector inequalities.

The Chairperson reiterated the assurance made by the CEO that a detailed progress report would be delivered by the end of February 2014.

SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Skills Audit progress report
Professor Mbulaheni Maguvhe, Deputy Chairperson, SABC Board, introduced the delegation.

Ms Lulama Nokholo, Group Chief Executive Officer, SABC provided some background to the report, reminding Members that the former SABC Board had tabled a report before the Committee in 2012, but it was not considered to come up to the required standards, as it had been prepared internally. The current skills audit process was contracted to PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), due to its technical proficiency in the field. The first phase of the work was completed in June 2013, which was mainly for all permanent staff at the SABC. The next phase comprised the assessment of approximately 1 300 freelance staff. The results should be finalised by the end of the February 2014.

Mr Vusumuzi Mavuso, Board Member, SABC, prefaced the report by differentiating the skills audit methodology, the deficiency model and developmental models. The report that he tabled was the same one presented to the SABC Board by PWC. The envisaged outcomes of the skills audit were to list critical and scarce skills. Once these were identified, personnel development plans and organisational training plans would be developed. A skills and competency report for the entire organisation and qualification authentification report were also expected outcomes.

The work streams included the qualification verification, which saw PWC making use of South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), Umalusi and the higher learning institutions themselves. The senior management personality and integrity assessment required that a battery of assessments be done, looking at personality and leadership orientated issues. The level of proficiency was judged according to forms filled out by the individuals themselves and verified with the line managers. The main purpose was to assess whether the organisation was confident that it had the requisite skills required for the migration from analogue to digital platforms. The high level findings showed that augmentation of skills was necessary for expert metadata, broadcast and IP network areas. There was a need for reviewing and repurposing skills in the areas of digital broadcast and architecture, digital equipment, digital signals, ingest, and post production of news content. Skills were also needed for conversion of content to digital, compression of technologies and to review playback content and distribution in digital format. He noted that all these skills were in existence to some extent at the organisation already, and were judged to be at ‘expert’ level. The requirement, in respect of the migration to digital, was to augment those skills to reach the ‘advanced proficiency’ level. In an effort to multi-skill the employees, skills transfer initiatives were undertaken.

The high-level report also showed there were selected scarce and critical skills in communications, time management and strategic thinking.  Benchmarking for particular areas was done against the mixed Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) skills plan which indicated scarce and critical skills  in the country, as well as international bodies. In terms of distribution, the organisation operated at expert level at 37% but was required to operate at 57%. In addition to the 6% increase necessary for the organisation to have reached the benchmark, this report was an indication of the fact that the SABC had the capacity to migrate, if there was some augmentation at certain skills levels. Hence, individuals were sent to training and paired in skills transfer initiatives. He was sorry to note that there had not been a particular institute for broadcasting. Nevertheless, the SABC had partnered with NCONKA,  which dealt with the training of broadcasting engineers, as well as the institute formally known as NEMISA. The SABC had thus resolved to pursue a 70-20-10 approach which he explained as premised on 70% of the learning to be on-the-job training, and 20% by way of short courses that individuals would be required to take. In this regard there were efforts to forge a partnership with the Asian Institute for Broadcast Development in Singapore. An outstanding matter still to be investigated was whether bilateral agreements undertaken by the government could be leveraged in order to attain skills.

To the extent of the recommendations tabled by PWC, the organisation had determined to pursue a workplace skills plan to address the issues raised.

With regard to the qualification authentification, findings showed that most employees’ qualifications could be verified, yet there were instances where the qualifications provided were not clear and thus could not be verified, or where the institutions cited in the qualifications were no longer in existence. Only four individuals remained whose qualifications had yet to be verified, so it was expected that this aspect could be finalised by the end of February 2014. If any instances of dishonesty were found, organised labour would be engaged and those cases would be dealt with accordingly. To address the level of qualifications, personnel in supervisory positions had been sent to management development programmes as well as undertaking on the job coaching and mentoring. On the job training was cited as helping those with unrelated qualifications to be better suited to their positions.

He noted that further impediments were the disorganised state of personnel records, but there was a person, shared with HR services, to oversee the correction of the personnel files.

The competency assessment showed the consequences of promoting good specialists into managerial positions, as seen by the collapse of the managerial level in 2009. Measures taken to correct the assessment outcome were the placement of the Group Executives for Human Capital Strategy, risk, Head of Procurement and Head of Strategy. The SABC was thus being capacitated at the requisite skills level. Furthermore, executive members had been sent to development programmes at Gibbs and Stellenbosch, with a particular focus on succession training.

Further measures undertaken on the strength of the assessment report were to include qualification verifications in the recruitment process. The Risk department had made contact with the State Security Agency to ensure that everyone was to complete an audit of their integrity security assessment. The skills audit had thus successfully provided the organisation with a skills matrix, to assess which skills comprised the organisation’s critical skills and which skills were to be augmented and retained, despite limitations of response rates and incomplete personnel files.

Ms Nokholo set out the next steps. SABC undertook a strategy session with the Board, where the Board adopted the organisational strategy for the next three years. The understanding of the organisational trajectory, in conjunction with the assessment, was that the organisation was able to undergo realignment, and a substantial part of this had already been completed. What remained was the need to canvass support at all levels. SABC’s social partners, along with trained change management agents, would be brought in to facilitate the process. Three phases were envisioned for the implementation. In the short term – the current phase – was a one to six month period, within which SABC was to do the revenue generation and on-the-job coaching. By the end of this, the personnel would be re aligned and the organisation would proceed to the standardisation and simplification and strengthening of internal controls. The long term view over the next 18-36 months would result in a new SABC that would operate at international levels.

Discussion
Ms Shinn wondered what the SABC had been doing in the past eight years,  and since Treasury intervened with a turnaround plan with the loan guarantee. The digitisation deadline was 18 months away and there were still inadequate skills or equipment. The archive was not in place yet, and it was asked what planning had gone into going digital. The archive was to affect the deal with Multichoice. The SABC should have gone ahead with the 24 hour entertainment channel in November, using that archived material.

She criticised and questioned the feasibility of the three phased turnaround of SABC, given the current level of skills and competency in executive positions and senior management. In relation to the integrity test, it was of concern that the Group did not trust the management team or the Board. The credibility of this was questioned, as she thought in general that it demonstrated a negative attitude which could negatively influence the total corporate culture. Most of the staff did not do their work adequately. She noted that 124 staff had no personnel records, but were probably on the payroll. The previous HR administration should have been present to answer to these results. She asked executive members present to indicate whether they had made themselves and their qualifications available for the assessment interviews, as it seemed that many people had not done so.  Ms Shinn was of the opinion that the current executive management was incapable of leading the SABC’s turnaround, and urgent action should be taken by the Minister.

Ms Morutoa enquired whether National Treasury understood the circumstances faced by the SABC. This stemmed from the period of cooperation between the entities in working on the government guarantee. She wanted to know to what extent had the digitisation of the archives been completed. She asked whether accreditation institutions recognised on-the-job training, and what qualification it attracted. Ms Morutoa was concerned that the Communications budget was scarcely mentioned in the National Budget and said it should also be taken into cognisance that the context was that of a developing country.

Ms Newhoudt-Druchen recognised the efforts towards access for the deaf. She asked what the pie graph in the presentation represented, and what synergy there was between its depiction and the information.

Ms Kilian asked for clarity on the position of the Group CEO, as it was reported in that previous week that she was resigning. If this was so, she asked what were the reasons for her resignation, two years into a five year contract. She asked if the executive level management was amenable to the assessment process. She asked if any of them were subject to queries pertaining to their qualifications for the positions they held, specifically including those in acting positions.  The skills audit was a reflection of the  Auditor General’s report for 2012/13, which was most critical of the SABC’s leadership. She insisted that the outstanding verification of qualifications must be dealt with strongly. Instead of now undertaking the “soft” approach of in-job training, it should be asked how people got into positions in the first place. She wondered if strategic thinking could be taught in short courses. It appeared that participants had to rate themselves, so she enquired how trustworthy such ratings were and if any follow up tests were undertaken. She asked the cause of the lack of skills retention, particularly at the freelance level. It was felt the SABC had not been adequately up-skilled, and the lack of in-house content and the development of a top heavy organisation still worried her.

Mr A Steyn also wondered how accurate the assessment was, given the self rating and the fact that only 78% had completed the assessments. He wondered what the assessment of the state of affairs would be if everyone had completed the assessment. He also wondered if the 124 employees whose files were unable to be found were receiving salaries, if so, how this was possible, and how it would be addressed in the future. He asked what the Board had asked the PWC consultants when presented with this report, and the level of engagement that ensued. Finally, if the solution was to be mentoring and on the job training for senior management who lacked skills, he wanted to know with whom they were to be paired. He suggested that the targets for implementation of accountability and internalisation of SABC values be moved from the medium term to the first six months of the implementation phases.

Mr Kekana was supportive of the on the job training employed by the SABC and decried the lack of a formalised systems for such training, citing the nursing colleges as a good example. He wondered what was being done,  in the skills audit, also to cover the 200 people who were suspended at the time. He heard the comment on the lack of institutions specialising in broadcasting but asked if the journalism courses offered at universities did not cover broad broadcasting parameters. Finally the SABC was congratulated on its positive developmental impact, particularly with regard to educational programming.

Ms Muthambi asked how the organisation had internalised and operationalised the report, and whether the recommendations of the consultants were followed. The report was given in July 2013, so she wanted to know what progress was made since then on the corrective measures and investigations the SABC was to undertake. She acknowledged that the background information had been provided but the status report was lacking.

Ms Lesoma cautioned that Members should not lose sight of the fact that the report was a skills audit report, not a HR strategy report, and it was necessary that some issues be separated out and progress reports given to the incoming Committee. She would have preferred to see precise dates given. She appreciated the on-the-job training. She asked about discrepancies between the intended spending and the actual expenditure in this regard.

Ms Nokholo elaborated that there was in actual fact a time bound and detailed implementation plan, but SABC had not wanted to distribute it now, knowing that the Committee preferred to receive documents well in advance.

Professor Bongani Khumalo, SABC Board Member, Chairman of HR and Remco committees, stated that time constraints permitted him only to give a broad overview response. He assured the Members that the SABC had a strong Board in place, with serious and functional committees. In the particular field of HR, the Board members had immense experience in the field of people management. He asserted that  management at the SABC was now effectively supervised and it was their responsibility to ensure the existence of the requisite skills, and a high level of integrity amongst the executives, from the Group Chief Executive outward to all management areas. HR and Remco had received and interrogated the report. The Committee would be impressed with the depth of questioning which ensued. The management was also engaged in terms of what the response to the report was to be. The skills audit was not solitary in nature and formed part of the HR strategy which was informed by and linked to the corporate strategy of the SABC. It would thus be effectively followed through be HR and Remco, a process which was in fact underway. The assessment had in fact served to underline what was already known to the Board.

He commended the Group CEO for co coordinating the response to the assessment exercise, ensuring it was properly linked to strategy. A response mechanism had been formulated, which was not unitary but part of a multifaceted response. The whole structure was under scrutiny, particularly looking at the competencies and skills gaps that existed. In addressing those concerns the organisation was to collaborate with internal stakeholders, who would assume a supervisory role and on-the-job training, but also institutions of higher learning who would address the absence of formal training in the field of broadcasting. He noted that such training existed in other parts of the world and that knowledge would be harnessed, but primarily the focus would be on formalising experiential learning.

A skills assessment was also to be done, in addition to the above-mentioned succession training, on the Executive and managerial levels, looking at qualifications and prior learning competencies. This strategy was to be cascaded throughout the organisation. Assurance was given that every member of staff would be accounted for, as well as their value contribution to the organisation assessed. Where some people needed to be managed out of the organisation, this would be done professionally. The style of leadership was effective but not obstructive to management functions. Although there had been great criticism of the staff complement, the Board believed that most staff were competent and adequately skilled. There were very few individuals still in acting capacities, and mostly this was limited to top level positions. He reiterated that the SABC’s management were competent .

Adoption of minutes of 28 January 2014
Committee Members expressed a general dissatisfaction with the level of detail in the minutes, particularly where amendments were made but were not adequately reflected.

The meeting was adjourned.
 

Present

  • We don't have attendance info for this committee meeting

Download as PDF

You can download this page as a PDF using your browser's print functionality. Click on the "Print" button below and select the "PDF" option under destinations/printers.

See detailed instructions for your browser here.

Share this page: