SABC Board: interviews day 3

Meeting report

The Chairperson said that after legal advice, Mr Michael Bauer could no longer be considered for a position on the SABC Board because he was not a South African citizen and could therefore not serve in a state institution.

Ms P Van Damme (DA) said an apology needed to be sent to the candidate for the embarrassment caused on him for being shortlisted by the Committee and then being withdrawn.

Candidate one:

Judge Chris Greenland
Mr R Tseli (ANC) asked what Judge Greenland’s view was of the idea of rogue executive members in the SABC, and what he would do to change that dilemma.

• asked how Judge Greenland would improve the current state of affairs in the SABC if he were appointed on the board.
• asked how Judge Greenland saw the role of SABC in the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) process.
• also asked if Judge Greenland could take the Committee through the process of appointing the board of the SABC.

The Chairperson asked where Judge Greenland began his schooling, since it was not indicated in his CV.

Mr M Gungubele (ANC) asked what two or three things regarding the life of the SABC motivated Judge Greenland to apply for a position on the Board.

• asked what Judge Greenland could do about the state of the SABC.
• if judge Greenland could share his understanding of the SABC system.

Ms M Matshoba (ANC) said the SABC lost the market share in the African continent, and asked

• what Judge Greenland thought the SABC could do to recover in the near future.
• what type of relationship the SABC needed to establish with the Chapter Nine institutions.

Ms van Damme asked why Judge Greenland was ready to come out of retirement and serve on the SABC Board.

• asked if there were one thing Judge Greenland would change at the SABC, and what would it be.
• asked how Judge Greenland would improve on the SABC’s public education.

Mr G Davis (DA) asked why the removal of three Board members in 2015, Hope Zinde, Rachel Kalidass, and Ronnie Lubisi were unlawful and did not follow proper protocol

• asked if Judge Greenland could outline the regulatory functions of ICASA and the Broadcasting and Complaints Commission.
• asked what Judge Greenland would have done as a Board member to implement the recommendations of the Public Protector’s (PP) following the reappointment of Mr Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Dr M Ndlozi (EFF) asked why Judge Greenland left Zimbabwe.

• how Judge Greenland would respond to allegations that he would be the Mugabe of the SABC with regard to been a 74-year-old retired Judge.
• said Judge Greenland had earlier said he owed no favours to anyone in South Africa and did not serve on any boards, but it could be argued that he had friends in Zimbabwe who he perhaps owed favours to.
• said that the SABC played on a continental space but the funding model was an immediate challenge that the Board would have to deal with, and he asked what Judge Greenland would do to improve the funding model.
• asked if Judge Greenland watched the SABC and what his favourite programme was.

Mr W Madisha (COPE) said that Chapter 10 of the Constitution said that SABC was governed by the Companies Act, he asked what Judge Greenland’s view was of the ethics, values and principles that should apply to the governance of the SABC.

Mr Madisha said the Nkandla judgment contained numerous notions to governance problems as had happened to the SABC, he asked what constituted good and bad governance and how would Judge Greenland give effect of that to the SABC board.

Ms N Tolashe (ANC) said, noting the fact that Judge Greenland had a lot of facts and knowledge, she wanted to know his understanding of the Broadcasting Act and its effect on ordinary citizens, how ICASA related to the SABC, and his reflection on sections of the Broadcasting Act.

Mr M Kalako (ANC) asked what Judge Greenland’s opinion was of where ICASA should reside, whether with the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services, or the Department of Communications since ICASA currently reported to both ministries.

Mr Kalako disagreed that people despite their qualifications and experience in order to be on any board, council or position in government had to be acquainted to a politician.

The Chairperson said he was sure the judge was familiar with the SABC eight journalists. But the judge indicated that he was not familiar with that case and the Chairperson could not ask him a question.

The Chairperson asked if the judge could share with the committee if there were areas where the portfolio Committee had failed to perform oversight over the SABC.

Refer to audio for responses

Ms Cikizwa Dingi

The Chairperson asked if she had anything related to section 17 of the Broadcasting Act relating to disclosure.

Mr Tseli said the SABC was expected to broadcast events of national importance and was expected to do so in the six language groups as identified. He wanted to know what Ms Dingi’s assessment was of the SABC on Broadcasting in those languages.

• said that the impression created of the SABC was that nothing positive was happening in the corporation. He asked Ms Dingi to share some of the positive happenings in the SABC with South Africans.
• asked how many people were expected to serve on the board of the SABC.
• asked what was Ms Dingi’s take on reviewing the roles of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), and Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Mr Gungubele asked what part of Ms Dingi’s experience made her apply for a position on the SABC board.

• asked why rebranding of the SABC was necessary.
• said the preamble of the Broadcasting Act referred to the Broadcasting system which comprised of three components. He asked Ms Dingi to name the three components of the Broadcasting system and her understanding of them.
• asked if Ms Dingi wanted to comment on the commercial component and its current performance.

Ms Van Damme said she found it interesting that Ms Dingi did not mention in her introduction that she had previously worked for Luthuli House, Mr Jacob Zuma, Ms Bathabile Dlamini, Ms Edna Molewa, and Mr Jackson Mthembu.

• asked if Ms Dingi was going to be a political deployee on the SABC Board.
• said that the CV in front of the Committee had the names of high political figures as references, and if she had wanted to update the CV she would have done so. But she did not.
• said if Mr Thamsanqa Jantjie who was a sign language interpreter at the funeral of Mr Nelson Mandela was handpicked by Ms Dingi, then what did this say about her judgement

Mr Davis said that the SABC board needed to take gender equality seriously amongst other things.

• He asked if Ms Dingi agreed with what Ms Bathabile Dlamini said in defending former deputy minister of higher education Mr Mduduzi Manana, who assaulted a woman a night club in Johannesburg.
• asked if Ms Dingi agreed with the ANCs policy of cadre deployment and that deployees needed to be loyal the movement.
• said that Ms Dingi sited ANC politicians as her references, which clearly indicated that she was a political deployee.
• said that her company; Mbokodo VIP submitted a tender bid for a Cabinet Lekgotla to the value of R4.9 million, while other bidders submitted quotes over R5 million.

Dr Ndlozi said that the candidate was evading questions and making a mockery of Parliament and should therefore go home.

Mr Tseli said that they could not ask a candidate to leave since they were busy with the interview. Each Committee member had to score a candidate after the interview was conducted.
Dr Ndlozi asked how an employer who wrongfully appointed someone who was not skilled for the task was expected to raise confidence that her judgement and reasoning needed to be included in the SABC board.

• asked what Ms Dingi’s relationship was with the current Deputy Minister of Communications.
• said that Ms Dingi’s updated CV still had high profile ANC politicians as references, and what was that telling Parliament about a person who sought employment on the SABC board.

Mr Madisha said that it was a fact that it was reported on 29 September 2014 that Ms Dingi did all the things that Committee members were raising with regards to Mr Jantjie.

• Said that the Interpreters Association had suspended Ms Dingi’s company because of her wrong appointment of Mr Jantjie.
•  said that Ms Dingi was suspended from the Sign Language Association, and those instances proved that she had no integrity.
• said that in his opinion, Ms Dingi was not fit to serve on the SABC board.

Ms Matshoba asked why Ms Dingi was interested in being an SABC Board member.

• asked what conduct spoke to her directly as a Board member if she was to be appointed.
• asked if leaking of information on matters discussed by the Board or Committee would put her in the light as a bad person.
• asked what Ms Dingi would do if the SABC had to relook local content.
• said that SABC had over the years curtailed its content production capacity, making it reliant on outsourced content. She asked Ms Dingi if she thought this was a reliable model to follow

Ms Tolashe asked Ms Dingi to outline her understanding of the Committee interviewing SABC board candidates, because this was not an ordinary process they followed.

•  asked what Ms Dingi’s knowledge was of the three-tier system and its importance.
• asked what Ms Dingi’s knowledge of the digital media and its impact on the traditional broadcasting services was.  

Mr Davis said that Ms Dingi was reading the answer from a piece of paper which would not be possible unless she knew the questions.

Ms Van Damme said that the Committee was not testing a candidate’s ability to read, but rather that candidates were being tested on their knowledge of the SABC.

Mr Kalako said he was covered in his questions by the Committee.

Ms Tolashe appealed to the Committee to protect the process of the interviews to score each candidate at the end of the interview.

Ms van Damme said that she agreed with Ms Tolashe, but if candidates were not answering their questions then they needed to tell them.

Dr Ndlozi said that candidates were not public representatives yet and he agreed that Members needed to maintain their cool when not satisfied with the answers given.

Mr Madisha said he was pleased to see Members working in unity irrespective of their different political affiliations.

Mr Gungubele said that candidates were present for the interview to sell themselves to the Committee and the candidate would therefore live with those consequences.

Mr Davis said that Ms Dingi had paraded her political credentials in her CV hence they interrogated her on that aspect.

Mr Kalako agreed with Dr Ndlozi that candidates were ordinary citizens and therefore it was not necessary to ask political party policy questions. He particularly referred to the DA members; Ms Van Damme and Mr Davis.

Refer to audio for responses

Mr Mathatha Tsedu

Mr Gungubele asked why Mr Tsedu wanted to continue as a Board member since he was currently in an interim position.

• asked how Mr Tsedu would make a difference if he became a permanent Board member.
• asked what the performance of the commercial law was.
• asked how Mr Tsedu and the Board planned to sustain SABC 3 since it was ailing.

Ms Van Damme said she was grateful for the work the interim Board had done in the SABC so far.

• She asked if Mr Tsedu could identify one specific role which he was involved in in turning around the SABC.
•  asked what some of the difficulties were that would not make him want to apply for the SABC Board.
•  asked if there were any difficulties with political interference and how he dealt with such instances.
•  asked if there was anything the Interim Board had not achieved that he would have wanted to achieve, and what would it be.

Dr Ndlozi was happy that Mr Tsedu was available to serve as a permanent Board member, and his experience as a veteran journalist and his track record thus far as an Interim Board member was satisfactory and should be admired and looked up to in the industry.

Mr Madisha said many people in the SABC did not get proper salaries and he wished the Board would be able to deal with irregularities in salary packages.

•  asked if the monies that disappeared from the SABC to the Gupta-linked ANN7 would be returned.

Mr Davis asked what Mr Tsedu’s response was to Mr Motsoeneng’s remarks that “the Interim SABC Board were like children waiting for Christmas with no turnaround strategy for financial management.”

•  said that when Mr Tsedu was Editor of the Sunday times, he had been dismissed from that position because the Sunday times had dropped its circulation figures under his leadership. How would he be able to turn around the audience figures of the SABC should he be appointed on a full-time basis.

Ms Matshoba asked if Mr Tsedu had experienced any political interference in the short time that he was appointed as part of the Interim Board.

•  asked if there was any unique working relationship between the Board and the Minister.
• said beside the 3% of SABC’s income from the state, what other sources of income were uncapped by the SABC.

Ms Tolashe thanked Mr Tsedu for the commitment he had demonstrated to continue to serve as a Board member.

• He asked what the best question Mr Tsedu as an incumbent would have wanted the Committee to ask candidates interviewing for the position.
•  asked if there was a book Mr Tsedu had written about the journalism industry yet.
• asked what Mr Tsedu’s view was of reviewing the role of the Executive Board members in the SABC. Namely the GCEO, COO, and CFO.
• said that when people spoke of the SABC, they associated it with television and less with radio. He asked what suggestions could be made to change people’s minds on that issue.
• said that the Board needed to raise the morale of South Africans who were looking at the SABC as a lost cause.

Mr Kalako said that he was happy that the Interim Board had turned things around at the SABC.

The Chairperson said that when the CVs of all the candidates were put out for public comments, there was a person from “Mjayeli” who said that the current Interim Board should not be appointed for permanent appointment, and the Chairperson was making that known to all Interim Board candidates.

Refer to audio for responses

Mr Nkosana Mbokane

The Chairperson asked if there was anything the candidate needed to disclose with regard to conflicts of interests.

Mr Tseli said that there was a suggestion to review the role of Executive Board members in the SABC, and asked what was Mr Mbokane’s view was.

• said that the mindset of most people was that SABC was about television, and he asked how Mr Mbokane could change people’s mindset to include radio as well.
•  asked Mr Mbokane what two things he would advise the Board on if he were appointed as the Minister of Communications.
• asked how Mr Mbokane would see himself dealing with unfunded mandates if he were appointed as a Board member.

Ms Van Damme asked if Mr Mbokane had any creative ideas on how to improve the SABC’s business using his extensive ICT experience.

•  asked how the SABC would be collecting licence fees if a lot of people were watching on mobile phones.
• asked what Mr Mbokane said to the argument that as a Public Broadcaster the SABC should not be charging its audience since it received public funding.

Mr Davis asked why Mr Mbokane wrote an article for the ANC’s website, and also if he would be a political deployee for the ANC.

• asked if Mr Mbokane thought that the perception of him being connected to the ANC would add to the public perception that the SABC was a mouth piece for the ANC.
• asked how the removal of Hope Zinde, Rachel Kalidass, and Ronnie Lubisi were unlawful and did not follow proper protocol.

Mr Madisha said that training of any sort made a person a professional in his or her field and that when Mr Mbokane was referring to professionalism he should be referring to ethics and capacity to handle the SABC. Mr Madisha asked if Mr Mbokane had that level of professionalism.

•  asked if Mr Madisha had good HR Management skills.
•  asked if Mr Mbokane would be able to deal with issues such as mismanagement, proper procedures, and corruption facing the SABC.
•  asked if Mr Mbokane would be fair and neutral in his role should a new political party be in power with their own Minister of Communication, since he was actively involved in ANC activities.

Ms Tolashe asked what was different and unique that Mr Mbokane could bring to the SABC.

•  asked what Mr Mbokane’s view on the funding models of the SABC was.
•  asked what Mr Mbokane could particularly bring to the SABC.

Dr Ndlozi asked if Mr Mbokane had worked for the ANC before.

• asked if Mr Mbokane had worked for government before.
• asked why Mr Mbokane had referenced Mr Derrick Hanekom in his CV.
•  asked if Mr Mbokane knew when the SABC was formed, placing interest on the apartheid structure of the SABC then and how it was now in a democratic South Africa
  asked how a state broadcaster was structured in comparison to a private broadcaster.
• asked if Mr Mbokane thought the Minister represented Parliament.
• asked what the benefits of DTT were, and what the dangers for it not being implemented were.

Mr Gungubele asked Mr Mbokane to repeat the disadvantages of being behind on DTT.

• asked what the disadvantages of being integrated with the rest of the world that was ahead of South Africa were.
•  asked Mr Mbokane what made him think he had the right experience and qualifications to want to be a member of the SABC Board.
• asked what cases Mr Mbokane was referring to since he had mentioned lawlessness as an issue in the SABC.
• asked if Mr Mbokane knew anything about result based management and what two areas he would focus on to improve the SABC.
• asked if Mr Mbokane knew about the Broadcasting system and any element of it.

Mr Kalako said that they were asking hard questions because they wanted people of integrity and without corruption.

• asked if Mr Mbokane would take ANC factional problems into the SABC Board.
• asked if Mr Mbokane would allow ANC political party issues to affect the SABC Board and if he would commit the same grave errors of previous SABC Boards.
• said that if there were findings against the Board from any of the Chapter Nine institutions, what Mr Mbokane’s attitude or response would be.

The Chairperson asked if Mr Mbokane agreed with the Ad hoc Committee findings that the Portfolio Committee did not handle the SABC matter very well.

• asked Mr Mbokane to elaborate on Kenya being one of the countries that benefitted from digital migration.
• asked what things Board members needed to do to ensure that the board was not being politically influenced by anyone.

Refer to audio for responses

Mr Desmond Golding

Mr Tseli asked when Mr Golding had chaired the Audit committee of the SABC.

• asked to what extent the SABC was moving with regard to broadcasting events of national importance.
• asked what Mr Golding thought about reviewing the role of Executive Board members in the SABC.
• asked if the SABC board that Mr Golding was a member of and chaired its Audit committee had been dissolved.
• asked what Mr Golding could do differently having previously served on the SABC Board.

Ms Van Damme asked how Mr Golding would do things differently if he were re-appointed on the SABC Board.

• asked what the state of the SABC’s audits and finances were under Mr Golding’s leadership.
• said that the SABC had reported over R5 million to irregular expenditures, and if this could be seen as inefficiency
• asked if Mr Golding had prevented corruption as the head of the audit committee

Mr Davis said that when Mr Golding was at the SABC they were in need of a R2 billion bailout, and now they were in a position requiring another bail out.

• that Mr Golding could be seen as a complaining Board member during his tenure, and what could he now do differently.
• that R28 million was spent on a jazz festival in KZN when Mr Golding was the Head of Department at Department of Economic Development and Tourism in KZN. Mr Davis asked what had happened.
• asked if it were true that Mr Golding was a shareholder in a company called Westside Trading 570, which had received funding from the Land Bank but had not paid back monies to the bank when their deal fell through.
• asked what Mr Golding would say to cadre deployment that damaged the SABC, and that in his CV he had indicated that he was involved in several ANC youth league activities and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings.

Dr Ndlozi asked if Tito Mboweni was a member of the ANC NEC, and what he would say about Mr Golding.

• asked what Mr Golding’s reaction to ANC factional battles impacting SABC activities would be.
• asked if the MultiChoice deal was administered while Mr Golding was an SABC Board Member.
• said that if the Westside Trading 570 was liquidated, and the court case was dismissed with charges, how would this affect Mr Golding’s reputation as a finance guru.

Mr Madisha said that a news report linked Mr Golding to Mr Roux Shabangu in respect of the R500 million leasing deal to the South African Police Service (SAPS) headquarters in Pretoria.

• asked why Mr Golding had previously resigned from the SABC board, what went wrong, and what did he do within the Board to remedy problems in the SABC.

Ms Tolashe said that there was nothing wrong with having a history of activism for whichever organisation.

•  said that if Mr Golding were to be appointed, and the same things happen at the SABC, how would he see himself as a Board member that would carried the image of the SABC.
• asked if Mr Golding was suggesting that the Committee at the time could have done more to assist the SABC.

Mr Gungubele said that when looking around the Committee members, it was clear that only one Member had no history of activism.

• asked for three things that Mr Golding did as the head of the audit committee during his tenure at the SABC.
• asked if it were correct that as a Board member he only came to the knowledge of issues after they had already happened.
• asked what it said about Mr Golding if he were not able to act on issues raised until they had already occurred.
• asked if the MNE framework was active during Mr Golding’s tenure at the SABC board.
• said that if he was ignored as an audit chairperson at the time, how would he ensure that he would not be ignored again if he was re-appointed.

Mr Kalako said Mr Golding’s past experience on the SABC board showed that previous Boards had been affected by political interference.

• wanted assurance that Mr Golding would do his work and implement the Acts, policies, and constitution of the country should he be re-appointed.
• asked what made people with qualifications turn around to be commanded political interference.

The Chairperson asked if it were correct that former board Chairperson Mr Ben Ngubane had signed off on a Cheque of R5 million to Mr Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Ms Van Damme said that Mr Golding had served on the SABC board twice already, and had resigned both times. His application for a position on the SABC Board would be his third tenure if he was appointed.

Refer to audio for responses

Mr Michael Markovitz

Mr Tseli said that sometimes factions emerged in structures, and he wanted assurance that Mr Markovitz would not form part of any faction.

• asked what Mr Markovitz could do differently to ensure they don’t dissolve the board should he be appointed.
• asked what Mr Markovitz’s understanding was of some of the gaps in the Broadcasting Act.
• asked what digital migration meant for the SABC.

Ms Van Damme asked if the Broadcasting Act needed to be amended.

• asked what Mr Markovitz understood of the role of the shareholder.
• asked how Parliament would protect the SABC against political interference through legislation.
• asked what Mr Markovitz’s opinion on upward referral was.

Mr Davis asked which Act should take precedent between the Broadcasting Act and the Companies Act, should there be conflict over the two Acts.

• asked if Mr Markovitz expected the judgement to have more guidance in amending the Act.
•  said that the Public Protector’s findings recommended disciplining Mr Motsoeneng, but such action was blocked by other members of the Board and the Minister. Mr Davis asked what Mr Markovitz would have done if he were a Board member at the time.
• asked what Mr Markovitz strategy would be to maximize costs without curtailing on the operational mandate of the SABC.

Mr Madisha asked how Mr Markovitz would deal with many of the issues facing the SABC.

• asked what Mr Markovitz would do if he was a non-executive Board member and the same incidents kept on happening at the SABC as with the previous Board.

Ms Matshoba said that one of the concerns expressed was that SABC focused on urban content. She asked what Mr Markovitz’s response was, and how the SABC could improve.

• asked how the SABC could promote social cohesion.
• asked what changes Mr Markovitz would want to see in the SABC if he was appointed.

Ms Tolashe said the SABC received 3% of its annual budget from funding, and wanted a response with regard to the funding model.

• asked what the relationship was with the SABC to the Broadcasting Amendment Bill

Dr Ndlozi asked what Mr Markovitz’s view was of the “Bantustanisation” of the SABC.

• asked what was Mr Markovitz view on pan-Africanism, and if it was not, then how could it achieve this.
•  asked how pan-Africanism could be achieved in the SABC.
• asked why the SABC could not just move to satellite instead of DTT.

Mr Gungubele asked what the key chronic factors that led to the dysfunctionality of the SABC were.

•  asked if they were not exposing the independence of the SABC once an Editor in chief post was created.
• asked if there were any similarities between the SABC expressing South African expression, and pan-Africanism.

Mr Kalako said that there were rumours that the SABC should sell some of its assets such as radio. He asked what Mr Markovitz view was.

The Chairperson said some candidates awaiting interviews had expressed that they had return flights booked for 8pm back to Johannesburg, and asked that questions be limited to one member from each political party for 5 minutes, so that the interviews could be faster and save time.

The Committee agreed with the suggestion.

Refer to audio for responses

Ms Khanyisile Kweyama

Ms Van Damme commended Ms Kweyama for the work her and the current interim board were doing, and asked if there were anything she had not achieved so far, and what it was.

• said that Ms Kweyama was a Chairperson on another Board and asked if her role there would interfere with her role on the SABC board if she was permanently appointed by the Committee.

Mr Madisha asked what Ms Kweyama would do about the other SABC employees who were not permanent employees, and why their salaries varied to the 3600 permanent employees.

• asked if Ms Kweyama would be politically influenced to carry out tasks in her position as a Board member.

Dr Ndlozi said that he was well persuaded with Ms Kweyama’s capabilities, and that he only had one question, if she were available to serve on the board again, and the fact that she had availed herself for interviews meant she was available

Mr Kalako asked Ms Kweyama to clarify on the issue of Mjayeli and why they did not want the Interim Board to be reappointed as permanent members of the SABC Board.

Mr Madisha said that the political question he had raised was with regard to instructions given by the former Minister of Communications, Ms Faith Muthambi to an SABC employee.
Refer to audio for responses

Candidate eight

Ms Febe Potgieter-Gqubule

Mr Davis said Ms Potgieter-Gqubule mentioned in her CV that she was part of the ANC NEC from 2007-2012. He asked how her political involvement would impact her role as an SABC board member if she were permanently appointed

• said that Ms Potgieter-Gqubule had recently said that “the ANC’s integrity needed to be restored”, and he therefore asked if this would not undermine her deployment to the SABC as an ANC deployee.
• said there were instances on television were President Zuma had been booed off ANC events by supporters, but the SABC had not been broadcasting these events. Mr Davis asked Ms Potgieter-Gqubule supported the non-coverage of events where President Zuma was booed off the stage.

Dr Ndlozi said that there was a problem with political deployment. In an institution such as the SABC, cadre deployment would have serious ethical problems. Dr Ndlozi asked if she found this a problem.

•  asked if it would be correct for the ANC to deploy Ms Potgieter-Gqubule into the SABC Board.
• asked if Ms Potgieter-Gqubule would be standing during the ANC NEC elections in December.
• asked if Ms Potgieter-Gqubule would resign from the SABC board should she be appointed if she was nominated and elected into the ANC NEC.

Mr Madisha said that cadre deployment was a concern, and asked if Ms Potgieter-Gqubule would handle the issues.

Mr Kalako asked if Ms Potgieter-Gqubule understood the concerns of the Committee since previous Boards were dissolved on the basis of factional influences.

• asked if Ms Potgieter-Gqubule would be above the board in maintaining integrity and taking responsibility instead of name dropping other individuals.

The Chairperson said that a bigger SABC Board would be quite difficult to manage, and if appointed, the Committee expected Board members to stand on what they said during interviews.

Ms Van Damme asked if Ms Potgieter-Gqubule was saying she would step down as an SABC Board member should she be elected if nominated for the ANC NEC or if she was elected into the NEC.

Refer to audio for responses

Mr Thabiso Ratsomo

Ms Van Damme said that the person who nominated him said that Mr Ratsomo possessed academic and political credentials.

• asked if people who held political office should serve on the SABC Board.
•  asked if the SABC in the past few years had been a public broadcaster or a state broadcaster.
• asked if Mr Ratsomo’s view was that the SABC had conducted itself as a public and not as a state broadcaster.
• asked if a Presidential speech at a conference would be something of national importance requiring normal programming to be disturbed for live coverage.
•  asked if Mr Ratsomo believed that government should be given more coverage than other programmes.
• asked if the ruling party should be given a bigger share of coverage than other political parties based on their share of votes in the National Assembly.

Dr Ndlozi said that many of the people from the old generation that were sentenced to Robben Island felt entitled to power, and that since they had liberated the country they were allowed to loot the state. Especially when they belonged to the ANC.

• asked why the country should invest in DTT as opposed to satellite.
• asked how Mr Ratsomo would improve the funding model of the SABC.
• asked what guarantees the Committee had that the ANC would not hold sway on Mr Ratsomo should he be appointed on the SABC Board.

Mr Madisha said that the SABC collapsed due to a number of things, and corruption was one of them.

• he asked how Mr Ratsomo would deal with funding involved on issues like coverage for MP funerals.
• asked whether Mr Ratsomo would ensure there’s funding for the SABC or editorial issues.
• asked what practical experience Mr Ratsomo had besides his educational qualifications.

Mr Kalako said that Mr Ratsomo would understand the concern to maintain the independence of individuals appointed to state institutions.

• asked what Mr Ratsomo’s attitude would be to those who say that the SABC needed to be privatised or its assets sold off. And whether these were the correct assertion to have.
• asked Mr Ratsomo’s position was on employing unqualified people in positions in the SABC.

Refer to audio for responses

Mr William Currie

Ms Van Damme asked what the circumstances were for Mr Currie leaving ICASA.

• asked if Mr Currie and other ICASA council members had pursued legal action on the former Minister for not letting them complete their 30-day hand over period when their tenures had ended.
• said that the Committee was looking for individuals who spoke out and blew the whistles where there were irregularities in public entities.
• asked why Mr Currie had not taken action since the Committee wanted someone decisive on the SABC Board.
• said that if Mr Currie was appointed to the SABC Board would he be the type of person to withstand political pressure and speak out or would he just leave it.

Dr Ndlozi asked what the role of the Allied Film Organisation was, which Mr Currie was the General Secretary of from 1989 to 1992.

• asked if there were black people in the organisation.
• asked what Mr Currie’s view was of the content of the SABC, whether it was pan-African or not.
• asked what was meant by “predominantly African society”.
•  asked what Mr Currie’s favourite TV show was, except the news.
• asked if Mr Currie had dealt with addressing the issue of data during his tenure as a councillor in ICASA.
• asked what Mr Currie’s view of privatising the SABC was.
• asked why TV licences should be discontinued.

Mr Madisha said Chapter 10 of the Constitution provided that public institutions in South Africa were to be governed by democratic principles, and this applied to the SABC.

• asked what Mr Currie’s view of the ethics that should apply to the SABC and its governance were.
• asked what Mr Currie would do if he was a member of the Board to handle finances and the funding model of the SABC.

Mr Kalako asked what Mr Currie’s view on reviewing the roles of executive members on the board was.

• asked what Mr curries reason was for favoring the CEO to be a member of the board without voting rights.
• asked if Mr Currie agreed or disagreed that the appointment of the SABC board was the domain of the parliament.

Refer to audio for responses

Mr Mathumo Manaka

Mr Davis said that Mr Manaka mentioned in his CV that he had been a Communications Manager during his tenure at the SABC, and asked notable services he contributed while in that post.

• asked if Mr Manaka was aware of the culture of bullying and intimidation at the SABC, and if he had himself being a victim of bullying and intimidation.
• asked what Mr Manaka would do to maximise revenue and cut costs without reducing on the mandate of the SABC.

Dr Ndlozi asked what Mr Manaka’s academic qualifications were.

• asked what unique quality Mr Manaka had that would make him suitable for a position on the Board.
• asked what Mr Manaka’s take was on editorial independence in the SABC.
• asked how the funding of the SABC could be improved if Mr Manaka were a Board member.

Mr Madisha said given the fact that Mr Manaka had experience in broadcasting, did he have the capacity to actualise the Broadcasting Act’s mandate with Board members to ensure that the SABC moved forward.

• said that fairness, freedom of expression and right for the public to be informed was important and he wanted commitment from Mr Manaka that he would ensure those qualities.

Mr Tseli asked how the board could face the challenge of unfunded mandates.

• asked what digital migration meant for the SABC.
• asked what Mr Manaka’s the view of reviewing the roles and powers of SABC Executive Board members were

Refer to audio for responses

Dr Deenadaylen Konar

Ms Van Damme asked what unique skill Mr Konar would bring to the SABC Board if was appointed.

• asked how Mr Konar would improve the SABC’s funding model.
• asked what Mr Konar’s opinion was of the SABC editorial policy and how he would improve or add to the editorial policy.

Dr Ndlozi asked which year Mr Konar was a student.

• asked if Mr Konar was a student activist.
• asked which movement Mr Konar was a member of.
• said that often full bright scholars were CIA operatives, and asked if Mr Konar was an operative.
• asked if Mr Konar was previously an SABC board member.
• said he was uncomfortable with an individual who served on the SABC board during an apartheid era and wanted to now serve in a post-apartheid era.
• asked if Mr Konar was comfortable in serving in an apartheid SABC board.
• asked if Mr Konar was nominated by individuals who were in the private sector.
• asked if it was fair for Mr Konar to expect Dr Ndlozi and many other black South Africans to appoint him into the SABC board when he had previously served in an SABC Board under the apartheid regime.

Mr Madisha was happy Mr Konar was interviewing for the position and that he was a Chartered Accountant, because they were dealing with a corrupt institution that had no money.

•  asked what Mr Konar believed he could do to add value to the SABC.
•  asked what would happen when the Board had to govern, because a Minister would be the leader and he or she would be from a particular political party.
• asked what Mr Konar would do about programmes that people did not watch on television anymore.

Mr Tseli said that Mr Konar was on five other Boards even international ones, and asked if that would perhaps hinder his performance.

• asked what Mr Konar thought about reviewing the role and responsibility of Executive Board members.
• asked what Mr Konar’s understanding of the digital migration process was, and what this would mean for the SABC.
• asked how Mr Konar would assist his colleagues if he was appointed as a Board member in order to avoid another case where a Board would have to be dissolved.

The Chairperson asked if Mr Konar had any disclosures to declare.

Refer to audio for responses

The Chairperson said that the Committee had concluded their interviews of candidates and would be reconvening on Tuesday to deliberate on the candidates.

The meeting was adjourned.