(Subcommittee) SABC Vacancy: Subcommittee Programme

Meeting report

The Chairperson opened the meeting noting it was a subcommittee meeting appointed by the National Assembly. It is permitted that Committees may establish subcommittees to deal with specific matters. The subcommittee meeting today would consider the programme for filling vacancies on the board of the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

Mr Thembinkosi Ngoma, Committee Secretary, outlined the process for the appointment of non-executive directors of the SABC board taking into consideration the Broadcasting Act of 1999. The Committee received a letter in 22 July 2020 from the then former Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies informing the Committee of a board member’s resignation. The letter requested the National Assembly to fill the vacancy in terms of the Broadcasting Act. The Committee has one vacancy to fill. The Committee has to decide on the number of candidates to be shortlisted. The names of the candidates are published in the ATC of Parliament. Press statements will be sent out in that regard.

Members of the public may make comments on the shortlisted candidates. This is an approach the Committee uses to ensure that there is public participation for transparency and openness. The process of appointment of a member of the SABC board will include qualification checks and security vetting. This process usually occurs before candidates are invited for interviews. However, in this regard, interviews will first proceed, but the Committee will not make final consideration until they have received the reports from human resources and the State Security Agency. Consent forms are sent to candidates to grant permission for Parliament to conduct qualification and security checks. This is process is conducted for shortlisted candidates only. The SABC board has 12 non-executive members. They currently have 11 board members and one vacancy that needs to be filled. This vacancy has been opened for over a year.

The proposed programme included the following dates: on 31 August 2021, there will be shortlisting of candidates. On 3 September 2021, interviews will be held. On14 September 2021, deliberation on the outcomes of the interviews will be held.

Mr Z Mbhele (DA) asked if the link for the documents to be downloaded online would be sent to Members after the meeting along with the finalised programme.  

Ms N Khubheka (ANC) asked if the Committee, when drafting the programme, foresaw any clashes in terms of Members attending the meetings given that most of the items take place in the evening on a virtual platform. The Committee needs to agree on the number of candidates to shortlist for interviews.

Mr Ngoma responded that the link for Members to access all documents and CVs of candidates will be shared with Members again. If Members experience difficulty accessing the link, they should contact the Committee Secretary.

In drafting the programme, the admin tried its best to ensure the subcommittee programme did not impact on that of the full Committee or the House. This was why meetings were scheduled in the evenings starting at 18h00. Use has also been made of Friday as there are no House sittings on that day.

In a prior subcommittee meeting, Members agreed to shortlist five candidates for the one vacancy.

The Chairperson expressed that the subcommittee holds the power to review the number of candidates to be shortlisted if they are not satisfied.  

Mr Mbhele said that should there be a strong conviction that six or seven candidates stand out, that they should be allowed to go through to the interview process, instead of the fixed number of five. However, given the timeframes and urgency to fill the positions, he is comfortable with the number five.

Ms Khubheka agreed with the number five.

The programme was adopted.

The Chairperson requested that the programme be communicated to the public.  

Meeting was adjourned.