''The ministry of communications has noted media reports regarding developments at the public broadcaster,'' says the late issued press statement from the department minutes ago that most probably comes in reaction to a story today in the weekly Mail & Guardian. ''The reports seek to paint an adverse picture of discussions and outcomes of a special general meeting held between the ministry of communications and the board of dorectors of the SABC held on 29 June 2011.''
The minister says ''the board of directors of the SABC are responsible for decision making with regard to the operations of the corporation, and not the minister''.
''The so-called minutes leaked to the media are also not a true reflection of the spirit of discussions and decisions of the meeting.''
ALSO READ: Minutes of the SABC meeting on 29 June 2011: One day notice for a meeting ''in a billion rand company is poor corporate governance'' - SABC board member.
The department says in the statement that ''the minister who is a shareholder at the SABC was not party to the subsequent meeting of the SABC board'' and that ''the minister of communications is alive to the rules of engagement that govern the relationship between the shareholder and the public broadcaster. The minister will at all times continue to engage matters relating to the public broadcaster, within the existing legal and legislative parameters''.
