"They're good enough," said Eric Kholwane, the chairperson of parliament's portfolio committee on communications, about the skills and experience of the 12 new chosen SABC board members for the beleaguered South African public broadcaster, as the majority led ANC bulldozed the names in a majority vote through parliament's National Assembly today despite huge criticism from all opposition parties.
ALSO READ: The new SABC board - Now its the blind leading the blind - literally.
ALSO READ: The last chance lost to finally save the SABC as ANC majority parliament choose wholly inadequate members for the SABC's 5th board in 5 years.
All opposition parties want to know why the best people out of the available candidates and nominations can't be chosen by parliament and president Jacob Zuma to try and save the severely damaged and extremely crippled SABC which has been mired in disfunction since 2008.
The new 12 member SABC board will replace the temporary interim SABC board whose tenure will end at the end of this month and who were put in place, also through an emergency steamroller parliamentary session, a few months ago following the mass resignation of the entire SABC board.
This will be the sinking SABC's 5th SABC board in 5 years and parliament's portfolio committee on communications chose not the best people to try and right the SABC but ANC cadres chosen and employed because of political party loyalty instead of actual deep broadcasting experience and know-how.
"We deliver as a ruling party,'' said Eric Kholwane. "The new SABC board reflects the kind of patriotism needed to drive our country forward."
The Congress of the People (COPE), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) all opposed the 12 new SABC board member names, which forced a vote in the National Assembly today. The ANC steamrollered it through with 203 votes against 78.
COPE member of parliament Juli Killian says the ANC refused point blank to accept even one name supported by any opposition party for the new SABC board.
The DA member of parliament Marian Shinn said the new SABC board is a betrayal to South Africans. "The SABc board does not represent the best choice of appropriate skills available". She said that control of the SABC was handed over to the SABC and that it a huge concern that SABC board members were not chosen from across a broad cross-section of South Africa.
The IFP member of parliament Liezel van der Merwe said "it's now uncertain whether the SABC sinking ship can be rescued".
The 12 names voted on in the National Assembly today will go as usual to president Jacob Zuma's desk where he will simply rubber-stamp it and make the new board names legal.
The new SABC board will be Ellen Tshabalala who is the current interim SABC chairperson, Noluthando Gosa as the current deputy chairperson and who was on the SABC board before before she resigned, and Vusumuzi Mavuso who was also on the SABC board before.
The SABC board will also consist out of Ronnie Lubisi, Thembinkosi Bonakele, Rachel Kalidass, Nomvuyo Mhlakaza, Bongani Khumalo, Mbulaheni Obert Maguvhe, Krish Naidoo, Aaron Tshidzumba and Hope Zinde.
"What you want with the SABC board - because the SABC is supposed to represents all of us, is that you would have preferred a more consensus way of operating where all of the political parties have more of a say," says Kate Skinner, a broadcasting policy researcher.
