Another shocking high-level executive exit is rocking South Africa's TV industry and the beleaguered South African public broadcaster with the SABC's highly-respected head of television, Nomsa Philiso, who has resigned and will be gone at the end of June after a 24 year career at the broadcaster.
The well-liked and respected Nomsa Philiso, who served as acting SABC CEO and served in various roles from general manager for the SABC's sales division and boss of its commercial enterprise division, steered the SABC through some of its darkest and most turbulent times of the past decade, most notably overseeing the struggling TV channels division and holding it together as numerous other TV execs left under former COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng's "reign of terror".
Possible disciplinary action from the current SABC CEO, Madoda Mxakwe, likely played a role in Nomsa Philiso deciding to quit. After the recent exit of Chris Maroleng as former SABC COO, Madoda Mxakwe asked her in a letter to answer to several allegations of misconduct made against her.
Nomsa Philiso who acted as SABC CEO when the South African public broadcaster had none, allegedly misled the SABC board at the time and wanted to approve a contract between the broadcaster and Creative Sparks to do work on the SABC's website.
Madoda Mxakwe accused Nomsa Philiso of having failed to tell the SABC board that National Treasury had dismissed her request for a deviation and also told her and the SABC to consider using a closed tender to finish the SABC News website work.
Madoda Mxakwe accused Nomsa Philiso of having failed to tell the SABC board that National Treasury had dismissed her request for a deviation and also told her and the SABC to consider using a closed tender to finish the SABC News website work.
Nomsa Philiso will exit the SABC at the end of June with the SABC that has not announced who will temporarily take over as the broadcaster's head of television in an acting capacity.
Meanwhile Nomsa Philiso's resignation, just like when the SABC's former head of TV Verona Duwarkah left in July 2016, is sending shockwaves through South Africa's TV industry.
Nomsa Philiso in a statement says that her "tenure at the SABC has had more fulfilling moments than not. I learnt a lot and enjoyed the challenges immensely. As a true broadcaster at heart, I look forward to cheering the team on as they deliver the much-anticipated turnaround".
The SABC says "Nomsa Philiso has played a critical role in the positions she has occupied and over the years has provided strategic guidance and support in dealing with the ever-changing television landscape and was an invaluable asset to the SABC".
Under her tenure as acting SABC CEO Nomsa Philiso was on a clean-up drive at the beleaguered public broadcaster.
She launched two separate inquiries in May 2018 - one into sexual harassment which found several cases of former and current workers who were victimised, as well as one into editorial interference in the SABC newsroom which has been completed but the outcome of which has not yet been released and kept back to after South Africa's general elections.
