SABC Board Interviews

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Communications and Digital Technologies

05 September 2007
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Meeting Summary

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Meeting report

COMMUNICATIONS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
5 September 2007
SABC BOARD INTERVIEWS

Acting Chairperson:
Mr G Oliphant (ANC)

Documents handed out:
None

Audio recording of meeting[Part1]&[Part2]

SUMMARY
The Portfolio Committee continued with the last interviews of the nominees short listed for the appointment to the South African Broadcasting Corporation Board. The Acting Chairperson explained that there had been 143 nominees, of whom 37 were short listed and 12 names would be finally presented to Parliament.
The candidates interviewed in the first session were Mr Mpumelelo Tshume, Mr Isaac Shongwe and advocate Nomazotsho Memani-Balani. During the second session the Committee interviewed
Ms Alison Gilwald telephonically, as she was in London. Dr Sam Gulube attended in person for his interview. The questions are set out in this minute but for full responses kindly refer to the attached audio recording.

Members asked the candidates to introduce themselves and to indicate why they wished to be on the Board, and what particular skills they thought they could bring to the Board. Further questions called for comments on the Premier Soccer League matters, the balance between the public information and commercial funding, the funding of the SABC and how it could be restructured, whether the SABC was fulfilling its role adequately as a public broadcaster, and local content. Other questions addressed the perception of bias, how the candidates would address the poor publicity and perceptions, the empowerment of women, how they would, if appointed to the Board, address the criticisms, whether there was any possibility of bias in their own positions, whether they would have sufficient time, given their other commitments, to devote to the Board, and the priorities of the Board. Members also called for comments upon recent events at the SABC, including the blacklisting, the decision to withdraw from SANEF and technical problems.

 
Candidates were requested to explain why they thought they would be suitable for the Board and what skills they could bring. Further questions included

MINUTES
Interview: Mr Mpumelelo Tshume
The Acting Chairperson requested Mr Tshume to give an introduction about himself and asked the candidate why he would like to be considered for appointment into the Board.

Mr Tshume stated his qualifications. He mentioned that he was part of the team that had established PetroSA and that this had been a humbling experience for him. He stated that currently he was the Chairperson of the SA Rugby Board. He explained why he thought he should be appointed on the Board.

Ms S Vos ( IFP) asked Mr Tshume to give a brief view on the current Premier Soccer League (PSL) saga with regard to SABC.

She also asked him whether he saw sport as a commercial society or as part of a broader society.

Ms Vos asked how he saw his role to promote SA Rugby, given the current situation with PSL, and whether he thought there would be a conflict of interest on his part if he was to be involved in the SABC Board.

Adv P Swart (DA) remarked that he had a problem with Mr Tshume’s CV as it was dated 2004 and yet the attached document read 2003. He went further to ask him what he was currently doing and which Boards he was involved in.

Mr K Khumalo (ANC) stated that since SABC was a public broadcasting corporation it meant information should be accessible to everyone. Therefore he wanted to know what could be done to balance public good and commercial resources.

He also remarked that there was a perception that the SABC was biased more towards American productions, for example, rather than towards South African productions in terms of the time allocation. He asked whether this could be changed by the Board.

Mr Khumalo asked for Mr Tshume’s view was regarding commercial leaders and public leaders.

He further questioned him on whether soccer rights were more expensive than rugby rights, and whether rugby was more expensive than cricket rights.

Mr R Pieterse (ANC) remarked that SABC needed transformation in terms of catering for the average viewer. He proceeded to ask whether he thought the broadcasting rights of SA Rugby would ever come back to South Africa.

Mr Pieterse went on to state that the previous Minister had commented that in his previous post Mr Tshume had done a good job when he was the CEO of Petro SA but he asked him to expound upon other comments that were made about his resignation.

Ms M Morutoa ( ANC) asked what his opinion was on empowering women, due to the fact that SABC showed programs that empowered women at 6am.

The Chair requested Mr Tshume to state one or two of his favourite programs on television and why he considered them to be his favourite. He then asked him to give his closing remarks.

Interview: Mr Isaac Shongwe
The Chairperson asked Mr Shongwe to introduce himself and to state why he would like to be appointed on the Board.

Mr Isaac Shongwe outlined his qualifications and replied that he was currently the CEO of Barloworld Logistics in Africa. He mentioned that he owned a consultancy business and also had an investment company. He then proceeded to state why he should be considered for the appointment into the Board.

Ms Vos remarked that he had an impressive CV. She then asked him whether he was aware of what was happening with the PSL. She asked him to state his views on soccer and the role it plays.

She asked for his thoughts on how the PSL situation left the ordinary citizen in relation to equal rights for all, as some people could not afford televisions or DSTV. He was requested to state how he would approach this problem if he was on the Board.

Ms Vos asked him how he would have dealt with the critical comments which were made on SABC if he was on the Board and whether he would have sanctioned such comments.

Mr Khumalo asked Mr Shongwe what his view was regarding the appointment of the Board. He asked him whether he thought the Board should be appointed by the Minister or by Parliament.

He asked what he thought the role of the broadcaster was.

Mr Khumalo inquired whether he had any knowledge of the current funding of the SABC and whether he thought there was sufficient funding to achieve its mandate and objectives.

Mr Pieterse remarked that there was a fear that funding from the government meant lack of independence. He then asked whether independence meant one had to be anti-government or anti-anyone linked to the government, as a sign of showing independence.

Mr Pieterse also stated that the flip side of the PSL was that women’s soccer and netball were not being shown during prime time viewing.

The Chair asked how Mr Shongwe managed his time since he was involved in a number of Boards. He then asked him to give his closing remarks.

Interview: Adv Nomazotsho Memani-Balani
The Chairperson asked Adv Memani-Balani to introduce herself and state why she would like to be considered for appointment into the Board.

Adv Nomazotsho Memani-Balani stated that she was a member of the Commission on Gender Equality, and the tribunal for the department of transport. She stated that if she was appointed for the SABC Board she would promote gender equality. She also stated that her small law practice was financially sustainable and this would help her when dealing with finances in the Board.

Ms M Morutoa asked what experience she would get in serving SABC since she thought there were many areas that were challenges in SABC.  She asked her which skills she would bring if she was on the Board.

She asked how she managed her time in the areas she was currently serving in.

Ms Morutoa also asked her about her experience with gender equality, and her experience in serving on the Commission on Gender Equality.

Ms Vos asked her to outline the gender issues which came to her attention since she would be serving on the Commission for the next 5 years.

She also stated that the Commission had been a disappointment to the general public as there was a perception that it was hampered by internal problems.

Ms Vos also asked what her views were regarding human rights.

Ms D Smuts ( DA) stated that the Committee was sure that the current Board Members should have freedom of expression. She remarked that Adv Memani-Balani’s approach worried her as she did not have a general view of SABC. She corrected Adv Memani-Balani on her view that the SABC should have a link with the local producers. She stated that the SABC commissioned the local producers, therefore the local producers were not the passive victims.

Ms Smuts remarked that Adv Memani-Balani seemed to have a didactic approach. Ms Smuts stated that everyone cared about people but that the media field was not there to provide a platform for her views. She stated that her overall approach looked at what was good for the people, but that was not remotely how journalism worked. The country was devoted to democracy, so a broadcaster should show such diversity of views.

Mr Khumalo remarked that the candidate was disorganized in extending her answers to things she had not been asked, and that in the course of her answers she had become political.

Mr Khumalo asked her if she knew what the funding model for SABC was.

He also asked her what she thought about sex and violence on television.

He asked what she thought the ideal family model on television should be.

The Acting Chairperson stated that he had not, as suggested by Ms Smuts, picked up on a didactic approach. He asked her to give some closing comments.

Interview : Ms Alison Gilwald
The Acting Chairperson welcomed Ms A. Gilwald, who was being interviewed by telephone, and introduced her to all the Committee members present. He then informed Ms Gilwald how the interview would be conducted, He first asked why Ms A Gilwald wanted to continue for another term on the SABC Board.

Ms D Smuts asked Ms Gilwald to give the Committee an idea of what went wrong within the SABC with regard to the loss of money spent on technological upgrades.

Ms S Vos asked whether the alarm bells were ringing in terms of the technology needed to broadcast the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Ms Vos then asked generally what were the achievements and shortfalls within the SABC over the past few years, with particular regard to key issues like the blacklisting report, the SABC’s withdrawal from SANEF and the controversy surrounding the PSL Broadcast rights issue.

Mr Pieterse asked how Ms Gilwald planned on using technology (specifically SENTECH) to increase the coverage the SABC offered, to make sure that it incorporated the whole nation, before 2010.

Mr .Khumalo  asked what the priority of the SABC Board should be. He then asked what the Communications Portfolio Committee should do in order to keep the SABC stable, with regard to oversight.

Ms L Yengeni (ANC) asked Ms A. Gilwald to evaluate the performance of the SABC Board, and answer whether the SABC Board had, in her opinion, fulfilled its mandate.

The Acting Chairperson asked whether Ms Gilwald was proposing that the Chief Technical Officer should have a permanent post within the SABC Board. He then asked what were the issues around poor governance within the technology department at the SABC and asked how she proposed to rectify the problem.

The Acting Chairperson thanked Ms A. Gilwald, and then the interview was concluded due to a bad transmission.

Interview: Dr Sam Gulube
The Acting Chairperson informed Dr Gulube of the interview process and asked him to briefly take the Committee through his CV and tell them why he was seeking appointment to the SABC Board.

Mr Pieterse voiced concerns over the fact that Mr Gulube left the Universal Service and Access Agency (USAASA) for his love of medicine, and he feared that Dr Gulube could do the same if appointed as a member of the SABC Board.

Ms Vos voiced concerns that the footprint of the SABC did not reach all citizens, and asked Dr Gulube whether, from his knowledge gained in the USA, it could be possible to install satellites in all remote villages that did not currently fall under the SABC footprint.

Mr Khumalo asked whether South Africa was bridging the digital divide. He then asked whether the SABC would be able to provide a hundred percent coverage of 3 channels across the whole nation. His third question asked whether SENTECH was providing the SABC with adequate service according to their contract and the future plans of the SABC in this regard, including whether SABC should be looking for another service provider.

Ms Smuts noted that Dr Gulube’s main interests were in medicine and information communication technology. She wondered if a person of his calibre had the right skills for the Board, and how he would envisage his role on the Board.

Ms Yengeni stated that the SABC received eighty percent of its funding from advertisements, seventeen percent from licence fees and three percent from the State. She then asked how Dr Gulube planned on locating other sources of revenue.

The Acting Chairperson thanked Dr Gulube and asked him for any closing comments.

The interviews were adjourned.

The Chairperson recommended that the Committee should have a preliminary discussion now that it was time for the short listing process. He asked the committee to think carefully about which Board members should retain their positions, and which members should not. He also asked that the Committee Members must think about nominating or short listing a fair and representative Board.

The shortlists would be presented at a future meeting.

The meeting was adjourned due to lack of time.



 

 

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