While the television industry would like to see the SABC board operating once more on full membership in order to deal efficiently with business matters, including the turnaround strategy of the publish broadcaster, this will not happen soon.
The Parliamentary portfolio committee on communications, which has been involved in the process of selecting the four new members, has confirmed that the names will only be announced after the State of the Nation address and before the end of the first quarter in Parliament.
Four SABC board members resigned last year following disagreement with the board chairman, Dr Ben Ngubane’s unilateral appointment of the SABC hear of news and his support of the CEO Solly Mokoetle (who resigned last month), amongst other issues which related to Ngubane bypassing the board on important decisions.
The board members who resigned were deputy chairperson Felleng Sekha, Barbara Masekela, David Niddrie and Makgatho Mello.
Mid January MPs shortlisted 14 nominees to fill the four vacancies. Over a three day period Parliament’s communications committee conducted open interviews of the candidates.
The candidates include Govin Reddy (a former SABC’s excecutive chief of radio and a board member of the Mail & Guardian); Ken Herold (a consultant with many years experience in broadcasting), Sethe Makhesha (senior executive of state owned forestry company Safcol); Professor Sadhasivan Perumal (University of KwaZulu Natal associate professor at the school of management); Maureen Manywama Matome (Safcol group financial officer); Vusumuzi Mavuso (regional director of the City of Johannesburg); John Danana (business man), Mahavishnu Padayachee (the head of the school of development studies at KwaZulu-Natal University); Professor David Mosoma (University of SA deputy vice-chancellor); Cawekazi Mahlati (advocate and business consultant); Lumko Mtimde (CEO of the Media Development and Diversity Agency); Xoliswa Kula-Ameyaw (Eskom business support manager); Peter Drunchen (Deaf Federation of SA national director); and Fawzia Moodley (director of media and communications company and former journalist.)
