Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) has slammed the delay by South Africa's government and parliament's portfolio committee on communications to appoint new SABC board members for the vacancies that have exited for months, as a gross dereliction of duty, a violation of their oath of office, and "acts of treason".
The beleaguered and unstable SABC - commercially insolvent according to the Auditor-General - continues to limp along months before the 9 May date for national elections in South Africa, with a gutted and inquorate SABC board following several resignations.
There's also been no word on when or if the SABC will get the new R3 billion bailout if needs to avoid complete financial collapse.
The lack of any actual visible progress to radically stabilise the SABC in terms of its finances, governance and management - with no real transparent communication as to what exactly is happening and not happening has led South Africa's TV and film industry to believe that the SABC is deliberately being kept unstable by the ANC-led government because of the looming national elections.
South Africa's 11th minister of communications in 11 years, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, and the chairperson of parliament's portfolio committee on communications, Hlengiwe Mkhize, seem to be missing-in-action as public servants as far as their task of stabilising the SABC is concerned.
Hlengiwe Mkhize, initially set out early-January 2019 for the process of interviews with potential SABC board candidates to start.
By mid-February nothing has happened, months after the SABC board became inquorate.
"The latest action by the portfolio committee to delay the appointment of new SABC board members, not only flies in the face of their promises to expedite the process, it constitutes a gross dereliction of duty and a violation of their oath of public office," says MMA non-profit organisation and public pressure group in a statement.
"In seeking to deepen the governance crisis at the SABC, they are deliberately seeking to destabilise our public broadcaster and our democracy."
"Their actions lead to two routes: one, we have an inquorate SABC board as we approach elections, and an SABC in financial crisis."
"Two, they seek to force the remainder of the SABC board to resign so they can appoint appoint an interim SABC board of lackeys and stooges."
"Both events have a similar outcome for our public broadcaster – its collapse as a public broadcaster, and a return to a state broadcaster. The only real difference between the options is the time it takes."
"As such, and having known full well of the impending crises, these latest actions could be seen not just as a gross violation of their public oath of office, but as acts of treason," says Media Monitoring Africa.
"That public representatives can act in this manner spits in the face of all who fought for freedom in South Africa. MMA is currently exploring all legal avenues and forms of recourse to help avert an elections crisis. All South Africans should be utterly revolted at this betrayal of our democracy."
Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams in a weird one-size-fits-all holding statement on Saturday said "the minister is concerned about corporate governance, given the status of the SABC board, and is consulting relevant stakeholders, including National Treasury, on the best legal approach, given the current state of affairs" following her first meeting with the government bailout team working on a possible SABC bailout deal.
