Following recommendations from the South African Broadcasting Corporation
(SABC) board, Communications Minister Faith Muthambi has announced that
Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who has been serving as the national broadcaster’s acting
chief operations officer for several years, will be appointed to the position
permanently.
Despite Motsoeneng’s matric certification coming under recent scrutiny along
with his salary, which seems to be increasing exponentially with each year,
Muthambi maintained that he would be a positive force in driving Digital Terrestrial
Television (DTT) migration and preparing for the 2016 local government
elections.
“I believe the appointment shall bring the necessary certainty and operational
efficiency to the SABC board and management viewed collectively,’ said
Muthambi.
Public Protector Thuli Madonsela had previously recommended that Motsoeneng
be removed from his position and accused him of many inconsistencies. He has
also been accused of suppressing programming which he considered offensive
to Jacob Zuma and recently proposed that journalists should only be allowed to
practice with a licence.
Gavin Davis, MP and spokesman on communications for the Democratic Alliance
commented, “Motsoeneng has been given a renewed mandate to continue his
reign of terror at the public broadcaster. We can expect more surveillance and
purging of SABC staff, more clampdowns on editorial independence and more
“happy news’ that reflects positively on the governing party.’
