by Thinus Ferreira
Advocate Nazir Cassim has found the SABC News boss Phathiswa Magopeni guilty of misconduct in a disciplinary hearing, and recommended a warning to her as a sanction from the SABC board.
Phathiswa Magopeni was charged with negligence, with bringing the SABC into disrepute and for failing todischarge her fiduciary duties after an episode of Special Assignment was broadcast by SABC3 through its final control centre (FCC).
While the broadcast of the episode of an investigation into tow trucks, was interdicted by the court and not allowed to be aired yet, a coding error and wrong labelling led to the episode of Special Assignment to be shown.
In turn, Phathiswa Magopeni in a 9-page letter, slammed SABC CEO Madoda Mxakwe and SABC chairperson Bongumusa Makhathini and said that they are trying to "destroy" her after she rebuffed their attempts to get her to approve a sudden interview for South African and ANC political party president Cyril Ramaphosa during the ANC's recent election campaign in Limpopo.
Phathiswa Madoda said Madoda Mxakwe is resolute in "hounding" her out of the public broadcaster and accused both Madoda Mxakwe and Bongumusa Makhathini of gross editorial interference into the operations of SABC News.
On Thursday, after a disciplinary hearing of 3 days, Advocate Nazir Cassim in a written verdict found Phathiswa Magopeni guilty of only one of the 3 charges, after the Special Assignment mistake, as the head of SABC News and said that "the programme belonged to her department".
Advocate Nazir Cassim said that Phathiswa Magopeni "demonstrated a lack of understanding of her role in the sphere of accountability and corporate governance".
"The employee's written closing argument as prepared by Ms Carvalho regrettably complicates matters and casts the employee in a bad light".
Advocate Nazir Cassim recommended that the SABC board allows Phathiswa Magopeni to "distance herself from the contents of paragraph 36 as it would be unjust to punish Phathiswa Magopeni for a submission and an opinion of her attorney".
In paragraph 36, Phathiswa Magopeni's attorney writes that "the charges brought against the employee are a farce and done so hastily".
"If, however, Phathiswa Magopeni makes common cause with the view of her attorney, then the SABC board must, in its discretion and decision-making power, adopt a sanction which is consistent with that of a breakdown in the trust relationship between employer and employee."
"In short, it is now upon Phathiswa Magopeni to decide her own future with the SABC."
Advocate Nazir Cassim said any SABC board sanction must be "just and equitable to both employer and employee. This, however, is a decision that rests with the CEO and the Board of the SABC".
