The SABC and the beleaguered South African public broadcaster is once again the focus of an ongoing, upper echelon infighting spectacle.
It follows after the SABC board met last Tuesday and removed Hlaudi Motsoeneng as acting COOat a meeting in Cape Town where dr. Ben Ngubane was not present. Mike Siluma was appointed as the new acting COO of the SABC. Mike Siluma promptly quit on Friday.
Dr. Ben Ngubane then went ahead and apparently reinstated Hlaudi Motsoeneng as the acting COO together with the SABC board deputy chairperson Thami ka Plaatjie. The "reinstatement" happened through "withdrawing" the letter to be send to the minister of communications informing her of the removal of Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
The SABC board then, in a strong and stern statement issued late yesterday filled with scorn aimed squarely at dr. Ben Ngubane that "neither the chairman nor the deputy chairman nor both have the power or authority to unilaterally change a board resolution".
Now both the DA and Cope political parties are calling for dr. Ben Ngubane to be booted out of the SABC.
"Dr. Ben Ngubane must be removed from office in the interests of stability at the public broadcaster," says the Democratic Alliance in a statement. "This is a shambolic state of affairs that does no credit to the board or the SABC."
Congress of the People party also says dr. Ben Ngubane must be removed. "Dr. Ben Ngubane has become a law unto himself and acts like an executive chairperson - if he is unwilling to resign, he should be removed."
Cope will be asking parliament's portfolio committee on communications (which is tasked with the oversight role of the SABC) for the removal of dr. Ben Ngubane from his post and the appointment of a new chairperson for the SABC board.
