SABC Board Interview: finalisation

The final three interviews out of 54 were conducted (there were originally 59 candidates but one withdrew and the committee was still waiting for the formal withdrawal of another).

Thereafter, the various parties submitted their choice of persons to fill the twelve positions. After considerable debate and trade-off the following list was arrived at:
Ms M Chiat
Mr F Kok
Dr V Maphai
Mr A Trikamjee
Ms B Masekela
Dr W Roland
Prof. D Swartz
Mr K Memane
Ms S Nene
Dr Y Muthien
Mr T Mazwai
Dr R Teer-Tomaselli

This list was achieved through consensus between the ANC, IFP, NNP, UDM and the FF. The DP would not agree to five of the seven names, the result being that there was no true consensus. The DP was the only party to vote against the final list.

MINUTES
Finalisation of report
The Chairperson explained the procedure:
· Each of the six political parties present would submit their list of twelve names for the SABC Board.
· If a particular name was common to all the parties, these names would go onto a provisional 'A' category bearing six nominations, followed by categories descending from 5 to 1 nomination(s).
· For each category they would determine if any of the non-supporting parties were prepared to support that candidate or if the party/parties who nominated that candidate would be prepared to drop that nomination.
· They would start with the persons who received the lowest nominations first, and start eliminating there, then move their way upward.
· They were permitted to engage in trade-offs, that is, a particular party would drop a candidate (to reach consensus) if another candidate which it desired was supported by the other parties.
· Thus through this process of trade-offs and elimination the committee would attempt to reach consensus.
· The Chairperson indicated that he wanted the committee to try to avoid providing motivations, they should simply agree or not agree.
· The goal was to strive for the greatest consensus possible.
· He added that it should at all times be kept in mind that they were dealing with the public broadcaster.

The submission of the initial lists
ANC
Dr Maphai, Mr N Coleman, Prof Z T Jobodwana, Mr A H Trikamjee, Prof D Swartz, Mr E T Mazwai, Ms S D Nene, Father A Nolan, Ms B Masekela, Mr A Maimane, Dr F J Kok, Ms M Chait, Dr W Rowland, Ms D N Mokhobo, Mr N Tsiki, Mr L M Nyhonyha, Mr K Memani, Mr V S Gounden, L M Maisela, Dr Y Muthien, Mr J S Kellerman, Mr D Masingi, Prof J Reddy, Ms M B Madumise, Kgosi Lebone Molotlegi II

DP
Dr Maphai, Ms B Masekela, Mr A Sparks, Mr R Louw, Ms A N Gillwald, Dr R Teer-Tomaselli, Ms M Chiat, Mr J Matisonn, Mr P Davis, Dr F J Kok, Mr J S Kellerman, Prof D Swartz, Prof T H Links, Mr A H Trikamjee, Ms M hau-Yoon, Kgosi Lebone Molotlegi II (the king)

IFP
The IFP nominated their candidates in categories.
Broadcasting - Ms Gillwald, Ms Chiat, Dr Teer-Tomiselli
Business, Finance and Marketing - Prof Swartz, Dr Maphai, Dr Kok, L M Maisella, Ms hau-Yoon
Journalism - Mr Louw and Mr Matisonn
Religion, language, sport and entertainment - Prof Links, Mr Trikamjee, Ms Masekela, Ms Nene, Dr Rowland, Mr Kellerman

FF
Dr Maphai, Ms Teer-Tomaselli, Ms Chiat, Dr Kok, Mr Kellerman, Ms Hau-Yoon, Mr Sparks, Mr Matisonn, Prof J B Du Toit, Kgosi Lebone Molotlegi II

NNP
Dr Kok, Ms hau-Yoon, Mr Du Toit, Prof Links, Mr Trikamjee, Mr Kellerman, Dr T Sodi, Mr Louw, Ms Mokhobo, Mr Sparks, Ms Chiat, Mr Maponya, Dr Maphai, Ms Masekela, Dr B Shabane, Mr Mazwai

UDM
Ms Masekela, Ms Muthien, Mr Trikamjee, Ms Mokhobo, Ms Chiat, Mr Mazwai, Father Nolan, Dr Maphai, Prof Swartz, Dr Kok, Dr Rowland, Mr R F Botha, Ms hau-Yoon, Ms Nene, Ms Teer-Tomaselli, K Memane

Dr Maphai, Dr Kok and Ms Chiat were the first to go on the list as all the parties had nominated them. The other 9 names still had to be decided.

The Chairperson began with the category of persons who had only been nominated once to see if any of the parties had changed their mind. During this stage the following persons were put aside:
The UDM set aside Mr Botha. The ANC put aside Mr Gounden, Prof Reddy, and Ms Madumise, while the NNP put aside Dr Shabane.

The Chairperson seemed pleased that so many names had been dropped in such a short time and expressed optimism that the proceedings would progress well and that consensus would be reached.

They proceeded to look at those category of persons who had been voted for twice. The ANC was willing to set aside L M Maisela while the IFP, who had made the same nomination, insisted on keeping this person on the list. None of the other parties were prepared to make any sacrifices.

In the category of those with 3 votes, the NNP dropped Ms Muthein (while the other parties insisted on retaining her); in the category of those with 4 votes, both the ANC and the FF dropped Kgosi Lebone Molotlegi II, while the DP and the UDM insisted on keeping him; in the category of those with 5 votes, the DP indicated that they were prepared to set aside Ms Hau-Yoon.

From this point onward the proceedings stalled as none of the parties was prepared to make any sacrifices. There was still only consensus on the first three names.

The Chairperson began this process of elimination over again, starting this time, not from the bottom but from the top category of '5' (to see if parties were prepared to accept names for the purpose of achieving consensus).

It was taken into account that the categories of certain persons had changed (eg Ms Hau-Yoon had lost some support and dropped from the category of '5' to the category of '4').

When reconsidering the category of '5', Mr Trikamjee and Ms Masekhela were tentatively agreed upon (the UDM conceded the inclusion of Ms Masekhela and the FF conceded the inclusion of Mr Trikamjee). They were added to the list, which now reflected consensus on 5 people.

The Chairperson thought it now appropriate to start looking at names in different categories of expertise to ensure that the Board chosen was multi-faceted. The categories which were identified were Broadcasting, Finance, Journalism, a Social category (which incorporated religion and disability) and the category of Education, Arts, and Culture. The parties now placed the candidates in these categories and indicated which ones they favoured.

It was agreed that Prof Swartz was an expert in the field of finance and Dr Rowland, as he was the only candidate who had past experience with disability, would be the only one who could contribute to the Board in this regard. This made him the appropriate choice under the social category. These two candidates were agreed to, bringing the list up to 7.

It was noted by the ANC that attention should be given to the issue of gender representivity. The DP agreed that it was an issue to be kept in mind but that they should not set a quota for themselves. This approach was agreed to.

The Chairperson allowed the meeting to break, to give the parties an opportunity to rethink their additions to the list. Upon reconvening the meeting the parties presented their lists.

From the lists presented it became apparent that Mr Memani was favoured by all except the DP. It was decided that there was sufficient consensus between the parties to include this name in spite of the DP's objection. It was clear that the DP would not change their point of view and the proceedings had to continue. More specifically, the Chairperson could not allow the DP to take the committee backward. (The DP's list contained the names of Mr Louw, Mr Matisonn, Ms Teer-Tomaselli, Mr Sparks, and Ms Gillward.)

The ANC also suggested the inclusion of Ms Nene and this was agreed to by all except the DP. She, too, was added to the list in spite of the DP's objection. The DP noted that they were only happy with the first 7 candidates. (The list now contained 9 names).

To supplement the list with the final three names the opposition parties put forward their packages.
The DP wanted any one of Mr Matisonn, Mr Louw, or Mr Sparks (They indicated that as long as Mr Louw was included the other two were negotiable).
The NNP supported Mr Mazwai, Mr Louw and Ms Hal-Yoon.
The UDM insisted on the inclusion of Father Nolan, Mr Mazwai, and Ms Muthien. Both the IFP and the FF wanted the inclusion of Ms Muthien, Mr Mazwai and Mr Louw.
These proposals had to be balanced with the proposals of the ANC.
The ANC favoured Ms Muthien, Mr Mazwai, and Father Nolan.

The Chairperson identified what the difficult areas would be and noted that a choice would have to be made between:
Ms Hau-Yoon or Ms Muthien
Father Nolan or Prof Links
Mr Louw or Mr Mazwai

The DP insisted that, in order to add the element of editorial independence to the Board, Mr Louw was an essential addition because of his background and experience in journalism. The ANC argued however, that Mr Mazwai fulfilled all the requirements of the journalism category and there was nothing that Mr Louw could offer that Mr Mazwai did not already possess. They attacked the DP for choosing a list which was not representative of the country's population, indicating that their list was markedly 'white'.

Ms Smuts (DP) strongly objected to this and demanded that the Chairperson call the ANC camp out of order. The Chairperson decided to leave the Louw vs Mazwai issue until the end as it was clearly a highly contentious issue. He indicated that they should try to fill the other 2 slots. He reminded the committee however that they ought to be guided by the Act, which meant that they had to consider the skill of that person, his or her commitment to freedom of speech, and, very significantly, the person had to be representative of the country's population.

The ANC suggested the appointment of a woman, and proposed Ms Muthien.
They noted that she fulfilled all the above requirements, as she was skilled, she was a woman, and she was Coloured. The NNP objected to this and suggested that Ms Hau-Yoon be appointed in her place. They indicated that she had direct research skills, and considering her media and marketing experience, she was an all-round good package. Mr Morkel (NNP) further indicated that, as a Chinese, she also represented a previously disadvantaged minority group (a submission to which the ANC responded with laughter). The NNP insisted that her business skills were essential considering the commercialisation phase that the SABC would be going through.

The ANC responded that if consensus was not reached they would make a unilateral decision and vote on it. The parties reacted to this strongly by noting that such a vote would mean that the ANC was 'simply ramming names down people's throats'. The ANC responded to this by asking how else was a decision to be reached if no-one was prepared to negotiate.

The opposition parties, in a attempt to prevent a vote, indicated all the progress which had been made on the list, noting that the movement of names which had taken place was indicative of the element of flexibility.

The parties however, were unable to reach consensus on the last three names. The ANC refused to appoint Mr Louw, while the NNP, IFP, and the DP refused to accept the appointment of Father Nolan. The Chairperson declared a deadlock. He decided to break the meeting so that the parties could caucus.

The ANC came back with a proposed compromise. They suggested that they were prepared to drop Father Nolan, and replace him with Ms Teer-Tomaselli if the other parties were prepared to consent to this. This meant that the final three appointees would be Ms Teer-Tomaselli, Ms Muthien, and Mr Mazwai.

All the parties (except the DP) accepted this trade-off as Ms Teer-Tomiselli was considered a good academic. The DP however declared that if Ms Teer-Tomiselli was added then they would oppose the whole list. This would mean that there was no consensus and a vote would have to be taken both there, and in the house.

The ANC then declared that they had only suggested the trade-off on the basis that there would be consensus between all the parties. They indicated that if the DP were not going to support the list then they would have to withdraw their compromise, and, when voting took place, the vote would be on their original proposal, namely, Mr Mazwai, Ms Muthien, and Father Nolan.

The other parties were angered by this and accused the ANC of negotiating in bad faith. They declared that it was unfair to go back on the agreement that they had entered into simply because the ANC wanted to spite the DP.

The ANC members caucused again and decided to honour their agreement with the other parties by dropping Father Nolan for Ms Teer-Tomaselli.

All parties agreed except the DP. The DP indicated that they would vote against the list and would declare on every platform that they support the first 7 names and disapprove of the last 5 names. The primary reason for their dissatisfaction is the exclusion of Mr Louw's name, who, in their opinion, would have ensured that the principle of editorial independence was brought to the Board.