Prof. Obert Mbulaheni Maguvhe, the current acting SABC chairperson has been appointed to the position permanently on Friday by president Jacob Zuma.
President Jacob Zuma appointed SABC board member Leah Khumalo as new deputy SABC chairperson.
In a statement on Friday afternoon from the presidency, president Jacob Zuma says the appointments take immediate effect.
The appointments of Prof. Obert Mbulaheni Maguvhe and Leah Khumalo were swiftly condemned by opposition political parties, the IFP and the Democratic Alliance (DA) calling it "ANC cadre-deployment" and that the struggling SABC and SABC board will only start to function effectively when its separated from politics.
Prof. Obert Mbulaheni Maguvhe took over as acting SABC chairperson at the beginning of the year after the scandalous exit of the disgraced and shamed Ellen Tshabalala who left in December 2014 after she was exposed for lying about tertiary qualifications she didn't have.
Prof. Obert Mbulaheni Maguvhe, who happens to be blind, then presided over the purging of the SABC board members Hope Zinde, Rachel Kalidass and Ronnie Lubisi, leaving the unstable and gutted SABC board without a quorum.
The SABC board is supposed to have 12 board members but only 6 remain after ongoing resignations in 2014 and the firings in 2015. The SABC board requires 9 SABC board members for a quorum to exist.
"President Jacob Zuma has wished Professor Obert Mbulaheni Maguvhe and Leah Khumalo all the best in their new responsibilities," says presidential spokesperson Harold Maloka.
