SABC and MDDA Boards: discussion on shortlisting for interviews

Meeting report

The Sub-committee of the Portfolio Committee on Communications met to shortlist the candidates for the vacant positions on the Boards of the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

 The DA, EFF and ANC agreed that they had not yet received the CVs of the candidates and would need time to look through them before they could compile a shortlist.

 Ms Moloi-Moropa (ANC) said the documents should have been delivered the night before. She had not yet received hers. Committee staff were asked to furnish them. She said the meeting should be adjourned to allow Members time to look through the applications. When the Committee next met, the ANC and the opposition parties must come back with two names of their preferred candidates. Members should consider the four criteria of age, gender, disability and race when considering the list of applicants. Of course, experience could not be left out. 

Mr G Davis (DA) said a candidate’s knowledge of the Broadcasting Act and the Labour Relations Act amongst others was also relevant.

 Ms Moloi-Moropa agreed but said it needed to be motivated. Good candidates were needed.

 Ms D Tsotetsi (ANC) asked for a copy of the advertisements for the posts to assist Members. 

Ms Moloi-Moropa indicated that there needed to be some clarity on the processes of the Sub-Committee in relation to that of the Portfolio Committee on Communications. There were resources and cost implications. Members were doing the work as a sub-Committee and then doing it again as the Committee. Were the discussions nullifying the Communications Portfolio Committee meeting on the 24 March? Nonetheless the meeting would continue.

She said the MDDA was in a state of collapse. Senior executive positions needed to be appointed by an operational board. That entity had to be dealt with urgently. The SABC was dealing with its crisis differently so the MDDA should be dealt with first.

Mr Davis said he was struggling to understand why the Minister said there were three vacancies. Two had not been referred to the Committee. Where was the blockage, was it at the Presidency?

 Ms Moloi-Moropa said if there was something legally wrong it would be dealt with from there.

She opened a debate on whether the interviews should be done behind closed doors or not. It could be open to the public but some interviewees in the past had said they felt too vulnerable.

 Mr Davis supported openness. At least cameras should be allowed so that there were no inaccuracies.

 Mr M Ndlozi (EFF) asked for clarity on what was being proposed. Would the interviews be open or closed.?

 Ms Moloi-Moropa said candidates might feel too exposed in a large Committee room where the public was present.

Mr Ndlozi said people who were entering public life had to develop a thick skin. It was important that the interview process be transparent. The Committee needed to inspire confidence that there was nothing to hide.

 Ms Moloi-Moropa said these views would be balanced against each other.

 Ms Tsotetsi said there were areas of sensitivity. A person being watched by the world may not tell the truth. If the Committee needed to cover itself and say the process was transparent then perhaps a tape recorder could be used.

 Mr M Kekana (ANC) suggested that a question paper be drafted so as to avoid repetitive questions by Members to candidates. Members could choose which questions they were going to ask and there would be no repetition.

Ms Moloi-Moropa said that had worked well for previous MDDA interviews.

Mr Ndlozi said if the ANC or DA Caucuses had already pre-arranged their candidates, then Members might try to protect the person in the interview process. It had to be the same process for everyone. Institutions like the SABC needed to inspire public confidence. There were elections next year. If the ANC brought forward another ‘Ellen Tshabalala’, then the EFF was going to fight.

 Ms Tsotetsi referred to the initial criteria. A female appointment should not be a token one.

 Mr Ndlozi said this had always been a bone of contention. Experience should be qualified but South Africa was historically a patriarchal society. Women did not have the privileges of skills or opportunities like their male counterparts. There was a need for transformation. There had to be a specified minimum of skills required, because otherwise there would be no women candidates.

Mr Davis said it should be the ‘best candidate for the job’. It was not the job of the Committee to rectify social injustices.

Ms Moloi-Moropa agreed that the issue needed to be balanced properly.

Mr Ndlozi countered that he would like to persuade Mr Davis that Members did have a duty, even if in a small way, to transform South Africa.

Mr Davis said there was that duty but what was detailed in the Broadcasting Act had to be referenced. The best way to transform was through the institutions.

Ms Moloi-Moropa affirmed that each party would return the following week with their two preferred candidates for the vacant board positions at the MDDA and at the SABC. The Committee would meet on 24 March to shortlist for interviews for both the SABC and the MDDA. A shortlist of five candidates would then be proposed to the Portfolio Committee on Communications. Interviews would not be possible on 24 March as Members had raised concerns that they had not yet interrogated the CVs of the nominees. Interviews would take place on 27 March.

 She said it was most important that the MDDA board positions be considered first.

 The meetings was adjourned.