The SOS Coalition welcomed the appointment of Roy Padayachie as Minister of Communications and Mr. Obed Bapela as Deputy Minister but warned that there were serious challenges within the department which need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Among the challenges named by the SOS are a dire lack of capacity; serious corporate governance breaches and governance crises at the SABC; corporate governance crises at Sentech; lack of a policy review process as regards current draft legislation including the Public Service Broadcasting Bill and ICASA Amendment Bill; and problems around government’s shift from European digital standards to Japanese/ Brazilian standards without any clear explanations as to the rational behind these shifts or guarantees that the new standards will in fact ensure the manufacture of cheap, accessible set top boxes.
SOS will be requesting a meeting with the new Minister to raise these issues.
SOS furthermore stated that names should not be submitted for the SABC board until clarity had been obtained on a number of urgent issues. Vacancies on the board exist as four board members have resigned in the past three months.
SOS called for either the resignation of the chair of the board, Dr Ben Ngubane or his removal by Parliament and the President. Other issues related to governance breaches which include the board’s decision to appoint an acting CEO from outside the Corporation in direct violation of the SABC Board’s Articles of Association, and the Chair’s refusal to sign the delegation of authority document in terms of the appointment of the acting CEO.
The SOS called upon parliament to amend the Broadcasting Act, 1999 to state clearly that the Minister has no role to play in the appointment of the executive members of the board. The appointment of the executive members is solely the responsibility of the board. Gaps within the Act have allowed for inappropriate Ministerial interference in the direct management and editorial control of the SABC.
The SOS warned that unless the SABC Board and oversight structures started
2011 with a commitment to good corporate governance, the Corporation will continue to lurch from crisis to crisis.
