The Democratic Alliance (DA) political party has called for an urgent meeting to be held in parliament in the coming week following threatened strike action by SABC trade unions who say they've had enough of "threats and fear" at the beleaguered and cash-strapped South Africa public broadcaster plagued by mismanagement.
SABC staffers on the verge of revolt, want acting SABC news boss Kenneth Makatees a so-called "enforcer of the SABC's Protest Policy" gone.
SABC staffers are also demanding the immediate suspension and removal of several alleged executives who are so-called "Hlaudi enforcers" like Nothando Maseko and are demanding an investigation into the appointment of Bessie Tugwana as acting COO.
The DA political party's member of parliament, Phumzile van Damme, says the DA "fully supports the right of SABC staff to engage in legal strike action" - something that trade unions Bemawu and the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) has told SABC top management could lead to a SABC blackout.
The DA says several of the demands in the joint letter of demand on Friday that Bemawu and the CWU sent to the SABC's top executives are reasonable, particularly "the immediate appointment of the SABC board as recommended by parliament, disciplinary action against the former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng and so-called enforcers", and a "full investigation" of the SABC's since overturned SABC TV News censorship policy.
"The brilliant work initiated by the SABC interim board to steer the SABC to calm waters has been stalled, and the public broadcaster has begun sliding backwards," says Phumzile van Damme.
"The SABC has many talented, qualified staff who care deeply about ensuring that the public broadcaster delivers on its mandate to South Africa."
"They are therefore well within their rights to take action to prevent the SABC sliding backwards and once again becoming a cesspool of corruption, mismanagement and poor programming."
The Democratic Alliance political party wants parliament's portfolio comittee on communications to hold a meeting in the coming week to allow the trade unions Bemawu and CWU, as well as the so-called 'SABC8" journalists who protested the SABC's news censorship policy, to "tell their side of the story".
"Many of the concerns raised by the SABC staff could have been prevented did the SABC have a board in place".
