Shortlisting of candidates for SABC Board

Meeting report

Election of Acting Chairperson

The Committee unanimously nominated Ms D Tsotetsi (ANC) as the acting Chairperson, in the absence of Ms J Moloi-Moropa (ANC), who was absent with apology.

Apologies

The Acting Chairperson read out apologies from Mr M Kekane (ANC), Mr M Ndlozi (EFF) and Mr W Madisha (COPE). Mr L Mbinda (PAC) said he was attending the meeting in the place of Mr Madisha, in order to represent the minor parties, while Ms F Nkadimeng (ANC) said she was attending the meeting so that a quorum could be formed.

Shortlisting of candidates for SABC Board

The Acting Chairperson said the purpose of the meeting was to postpone the short-listing of candidates for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Board. The vacant posts had been advertised, but many of the applicants were not suitably qualified and did not have the required broadcasting background. The Committee had considered re-advertising the vacant posts, as the Office of the Chairperson had asked for further consultation. She said there were challenges in terms of the media coverage of the issues involved.

Mr G Davis (DA) suggested that the Committee should go through the process of obtaining a legal opinion and at the end re-advertise if they were not satisfied with the qualifications of the candidates.

Mr R Tseli (ANC) remarked that many of the Members supported the proposal to re-advertise the vacant positions. He believed that was the best route to go, as it was in the interests of the Committee and the public to have applications from other candidates whose qualifications were higher than those that were currently available. However, those who had applied before should not be allowed to reapply.

Mr Mbinda said he had wondered what the basis for re-advertising was, and was glad that the Acting Chairperson had explained the reasons. He remarked that if the current candidates did not meet the requirements, they should be rejected.

Mr Davis expressed concern over the issues surrounding the media coverage and the suggestion to re-advertise. The Chairperson had issued a press statement over the media article. He said there was nowhere in the Act where it was stated that only the Chairperson could communicate on the Committee, or on what the Committee had said. He had suggested a week before that the posts should be re-advertised, but he had been shouted down. He was worried about the delays, which were man-made. If the Committee had been a bit more decisive, the delays could have been avoided and the Board members would have been appointed long ago. The Acting Chairperson had said the Chairperson had wanted more consultations. He was not sure what she had meant by this, and who she needed to consult with. He proposed that the five candidates for Board chairperson should be interviewed as soon as possible, to fill the Ellen Tshabalala vacancy. The post had been vacant for six months and presently the SABC Board did not have a quorum, as there were only six Members and nine were needed to form a quorum. At the moment, the SABC Board could not take any decisions. If the Board did so, without forming a quorum, such decisions would be illegal in terms of the Broadcasting Act. He proposed that the Tshabalala vacancy should be filled as a matter of urgency.

The Acting Chairperson replied that the Members of the Committee were in agreement regarding the challenges of filling the vacant posts. These were beyond the control of the Committee, as it would not want to be embarrassed by appointing people who were unqualified. She said Mr Davis was being consistent in his arrogant attitude of demanding that the Committee should go to court to obtain a legal opinion. Before going to court, all other avenues should be exhausted.

Mr Tseli criticised a Sunday Times report that had indicated that one of the applicants had a qualification in bricklaying. The fact that applicants’ CVs were being reported on should be seen in a very serious light. It was not right that CVs sent in confidence to the Committee were everywhere and became common knowledge to everyone. Such a betrayal of trust and confidentiality would eventually come back to haunt Members of Parliament, and not the media. He advised Members to desist from sharing information of this nature with the public, as this did not happen at any institution. He urged Members to behave in an honorable manner and allow the relevant office to disseminate information to the media when necessary

Mr Davis replied that South Africa was a free country, where the media was free to communicate on the issues being deliberated in the Committee. Applying to be a member of the SABC Board was a public process and it was the right of the media and the public to scrutinise the candidates.

 The Acting Chairperson said the media had abused its freedom, and agreed with Mr Tseli that it was wrong of the media to display the qualifications of applicants in the newspapers before they were employed.

Mr Tseli said he had hoped that this meeting would be a short one, because the Committee was in agreement that the vacant positions should be re-advertised. The only constraint was the budget which Parliament had approved. Filling the vacant posts should be given the urgency it deserved, but the Committee should not take the short cuts which had been suggested by Mr Davis. Procedures should be followed correctly in order to have a reasonable pool of candidates to select from.

Mr Davis reiterated that it was a public process and quoted Section 13(2) of the Broadcasting Act of 1999,  which allowed public participation in the nomination process, transparency and openness and the publishing of short-listed candidates.

The Acting Chairperson replied that Mr Davis was saying things that were not true, and was reading selectively.

Mr Davis said the Acting Chairperson should use her privileged position in good faith and should not abuse it by shouting at him, as he deserved to be listened to.

The Acting Chairperson replied that she was not abusing her position, but it was Mr Davis who was abusing his privileges.

Mr Davis said the reason why only 23 candidates had applied for the two vacancies on the Board while there had been 97 applications for the post of chairperson, was the belief by many people that members could be arbitrarily and unlawfully removed from the SABC Board. He argued that acting on the legal opinion and reinstating the three board Members who had been removed earlier this year would send a strong message that this was not the case.

Mr Tseli said that the meeting had not been convened for a legal opinion, and Mr Davis had entered a terrain that was not part of the agenda. A sub-committee had been convened and mandated to address the shortlist of candidates for the SABC Board, and not to resolve the issue of the legal opinion which was before the Portfolio Committee on Communication.

The Acting Chairperson said it was better to go the long route by doing things correctly. Everybody should be given a chance before hearing the legal opinion, as all the rules of consultation must be exhausted. The meeting was to shortlist the candidates for the Board and the Committee should confine itself to that and not deviate.

Mr Davis replied that he was not deviating, as the legal opinion had a material impact on the Committee’s work.

The Acting Chairperson said the more Mr Davis was asked to be in order, the more he brought up issues that were not on the agenda for discussion. She reminded Members that the meeting was open to the public, so Members should behave honorably. She had hoped that this would be a very short meeting because of the nature of the agenda and the fact that the Chairperson was absent.

Mr Davis replied that the sub-committee had scheduled a meeting, and the time must be used accordingly.

The Chairperson said the Committee was going to take the route of re-advertising so that justice could be done. The Committee would ensure that the people nominated as Board members fulfilled the criteria. The Committee would do the right thing to avoid embarrassment.

Mr Davis replied that the Committee would embarrass itself by repeating the same mistake if the legal opinion was not resolved. He reiterated that the five candidates who had applied should be interviewed immediately so that the Board could form a quorum.

The Acting Chairperson said she had taken note of points raised by Mr Davis.

She thanked the Members who had attended the meeting and helped form a quorum. She said the Committee would make sure the candidates were qualified, and urged Members to confine themselves to the agenda in future.

The meeting was adjourned.