The appointment of Solly Mokoetle as the new CEO of debt-ridden public broadcaster SABC by the interim board at the beginning of January was followed promptly by a call from the Inkatha Freedom Party to investigate allegations surrounding Mokoetle’s corporate governance during his tenure as COO of the SABC between 2001 and 2006.
This in turn, according to media reports, was followed by parliamentary portfolio committee communications chairmain Ismail Vadi requesting a copy of the 2005 Gobodo Report which details on Mokoetle’s alleged corporate governance failures.
This in turn was followed by reports that some of the newly appointed board had issues with the fact the interim board had made the Mokoetle appointment and wanted to challenge it.
This in turn was followed by the Congress of the People (COPE) calling on the SABC board to “reveal to the public the nature of the charges Mr Mokoetle was found guilty of’ and for Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda “to explain to the public’ how he came to approve Mokoetle’s appointment.
This in turn was followed by the TV Industry Emergency Coalition (TVIEC) sending an Open Letter to the SABC saying, “It is a pity that the new SABC Board and GCEO are having their attention side-tracked by a five year old report that apparently deals with conspiracy theories.’
Today, The Mail & Guardian reports that a Labour Court judgement of December 2008 found that the SABC victimised Mokoetle because it delayed bring disciplinary proceedings against him based on the finding of the Gobodo Report. However, the judgement doesn’t exonerate Mokoetle either. The Mail & Guardian also quotes an unnamed member of the new board as saying that it seems underhand to raise the Gobodo Report at this time.
Wonder what the next week will bring…
