by Thinus Ferreira
Administrator and professional violinist Dr Shadrack Bokaba is the latest person in the CEO role at South Africa's embattled, unstable, and beleaguered film agency, the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) - the 8th person in the role in the past 3 years.
With the NFVF falling apart, such is the emergency at the boardless South African film agency entity, that Shadrack Bokaba is now immediately functioning as both CEO and accounting authority under emergency measures.
This comes after South Africa's minister of sports, arts and culture, Gayton McKenzie last week fired the entire NFVF council for the second time in two years.
Under this emergency statutory mechanism, Shadrack Bokaba is both CEO and "board" since there is nobody else.
Makhosazana Khanyile resigned as NFVF CEO in March CEO and was replaced by Thobela Mayinje as acting CEO in April 2023, who was suspended in July 2024 and resigned in November 2024.
She was followed by Lebogang Mogoera as acting CEO, after which Vince Blennies was appointed in April 2025 who barely stayed and hastily quit.
Then Onke Dumeko was made acting NFVF CEO who got suspended in June 2026, after which the NFVF board knowing that they couldn't do so, appointed board member Nondumiso Madlala as acting CEO in July 2026.
She was then also replaced by Neliswa Bam in late September 2026 as acting CEO who then also had to take on acting accounting authority.
With the latest NFVF CEO appointment, the film agency, which continues to be marred by leadership and management instability and accusations of corruption, mismanagement and waste, touts Shadrack Bokaba's CV, nothing that he "bring more than 25 years of leadership experience and over three decades of experience spanning music, theatre, film, cultural policy and arts management".
"He has a proven track record in strategic planning, governance, organisational development and stakeholder engagement. His qualifications include a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) and a PhD in Cultural Policy and Management."
The NFVF says Shadrack Bokaba's appointment as latest NFVF CEO "marks a new chapter for the NFVF, with a focus on organisational stability, strategic direction and strengthening the foundation's ability to deliver on its mandate".
The NFVF which didn't communicate with South Africa's film industry to tell anybody about the firing of its board, now there won't be interruptions.
Yet the local film biz have been furious for months - even leading to a protest sit-in at the NFVF's offices two months ago - over the beleaguered agency's inability to process basic admin and to process, announce and dispurse film funding properly.
The NFVF's company secretary Lindeka Moeng, now says that with Shadrack Bokaba as both CEO and "accounting authority", "independent film practitioners, production houses, and crew members across the sector face zero financial delays or operational paralysis during this transitional phase".
Shadrack Bokaba has apparently "met with NFVF staff and emphasised the importance of building a strong, collaborative team committed to serving the South African audiovisual sector".
In a supplied quote, Shadrack Bokaba says "I'm happy to be back and look forward to working with the NFVF to serve the film sector in South Africa".
"We must remember that the NFVF exists to serve filmmakers, and it will be key for us to strengthen our relationships with the sector. Building a strong team that is committed to delivering on the NFVF's mandate will be central to this work."
