Universal condemnation grows over SABC appointment of matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng as ANC, SACP, FXI, Mwasa, join chorus of criticism.

There's universal, growing condemnation and outrage over the SABC's shocking, ridiculous and unexpected permanent appointment of the famously matricless and highly controversial Hlaudi Motsoeneng as the beleaguered SABC's chief operating officer (COO).

The ANC political party, SACP political party, the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), Mwasa trade union, the former SABC CEO Dali Mpofu and others have joined the growing chorus of concern and criticism levelled at the struggling SABC, the SABC board, and South Africa's new minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, .

The SABC board and Faith Muthambi are reponsible for pushing through the disgraceful appointment and all but shattering whatever was left of the SABC's credibility as a public broadcaster.

The SABC and the SABC board has so far failed to act on any of the recommendations of the Public Protector's damning report of Hlaudi Motsoeneng which was issued in February and which states that "Hlaudi Motsoeneng should never have been appointed at the SABC".

The SABC also never advertised the position of COO.


ANC
"When such an appointment is made, given all the challenges that were there at the SABC before, at least we should be taken into confidence either by the SABC board or deployees of the ANC through the minister, so that we can have a better understanding," says Zizi Kodwa, ANC national spokesperson.


SACP
The SACP wants Faith Muthambi to review the position and to readvertise the positions of SABC CEO and CFO, and to also advertise the COO position. "We want to see this position readvertised properly," says Solly Maphaila, secretary general of the SACP.

"If Hlaudi Motsoeneng is competent enough, is he can prove he has been doing well, or others can prove that they can do better, on that basis a competent panel can then look into that and take a decision".


The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI)
"The Freedom of Expression Institute is disappointed at the permanent appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as COO of the SABC. The appointment represents a further divergence of the public broadcaster from any hopes of restoring confidence in the fulfilment of its mandate under the current leadership," says FXI executive director Phenyo Dean Butale. 

"The appointment by Faith Muthambi has undermined the due process to be exercised by the SABC board in acting in the recommendations of the Public Protector's report".

"The appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng in such a matter shows the complete disregard for prescribed procedure in the recruitment of senior management within the organisation. Faith Muthambi has justified the appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng on the basis that he has been doing a good job. Evidence to support this claim is however not apparent".

"However, what is without doubt is that the SABC remains in crisis of management, strategy and implementation. Evidence in this regard is overwhelming with the SABC over the past 3 years receiving qualified audits reports".


Media Workers Association of South Africa (Mwasa)
"The shenanigans surrounding the hustled appointment of the controversial COO of the SABC represent a well-rehearsed repeat episode," says Tuwani Gumani, Mwasa secretary general.

"It has been a case of crisis management that includes massive golden handshakes and political back-patting. We have seen it all before but there seems to be no end to it".

"The latest installment involving Faith Muthambi, the SABC board, the parliamentary portfolio committee on communications, the office of the Public Protector and others, trumps all previous displays of ineptitude, incapacity,inefficiency, corruption and abuse of privilege to serve".

"It cannot be acceptable that individuals, even mavericks and populists, are persistently touted as messianic appointees that will 'turn the SABC around' ".

"The SABC is a public utility that must remain accessible to all citizens and it should provide ample space for all South Africans to find expression of their expectations, aspirations and experiences across its platforms and programmes".

"Meeting the least criteria and mediocre performance amounts to an insult to the South African public that deserves far more than brazen displays of greed, self-interest and corruption that have so far been the hallmarks of the SABC's chequered history".


Cosatu
"The  Congress of South African Trade Unions condemns the decisions of the SABC board and the minister of communications and urges the minister and the SABC board to comply with the call to review their decision endorsing the appointment".



Support Public Broadcasting Coalition (SOS Coalition)
"Where was the fair, transparent and public appointment process we were promised by the ministry?" asks the SOS Coalition.

"The post was not advertised and, as such, no thorough recruitment process was followed". The SOS Coalition says Hlaudi Motsoeneng's permanent COO appointment will "further undermine the stability and credibility of the SABC".


Public Protector Thuli Madonsela
Thuli Madonsela told eNCA (DStv 403) that Hlaudi Motsoeneng "lied to the SABC about having a matric certificate. He admitted to me, and I have a recorded interview with him".

"Secondly the position was initially advertised as a position requiring certain qualifications. Therefore Hlaudi Motsoeneng didn't have those qualifications. One of them was a tertiary degree which he didn't have".

"The SABC board chairperson Ellen Zandile Tshabalala has written to me several times requesting extra time to submit and implementation plan".

"She was supposed to do that in 30 days. Five months down the line I'm still waiting for just a simple plan that indicated what Ellen Zandile Tshabalala is going to do. That obviously would have included her indicating to me how and when they were going to appoint the SABC's new COO".


Broadcasting, Electronic Media and Allied Workers Union (Bemawu)
Bemawu says it is "shocked" by the unprocedural appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Bemawu says it demands "that the appointment be reversed and due process be followed, failing which we will legally challenge the recruitment process".


Dali Mpofu, former SABC CEO
Dali Mpofu, a former SABC CEO told Alec Hogg on CNBC Africa (DStv 410) that "All I can say is that it's pathetic when we get to a situation where skills are not valued, where the message that we send to young people is that you don't have to work hard to get those degrees or to acquire those skills - all you need is to be connected".

"I always say that even if you are going to employ people who agree with you politically, first and foremost, they must have the skills to do what they have to do".

"It discredits the whole notion of transformation if you're literally going to grab some guy from the taxi rank".

"The job of SABC COO is a very complex job. The job of the COO at the SABC is even more complex than the CEO's job, so I don't understand how anyone who allegedly does not have matric can even do it at all".


DA
The Democratic Alliance (DA) political party in a statement calls Hlaudi Motsoeneng's appointment as SABC COO "a dark day for democracy".

"Hlaudi Motsoeneng has been given a renewed mandate to continue his reign of terror at the public broadcaster," says Gavin Davis, the DA shadow minister of communications.

"We can expect more surveillance and purging of SABC staff, more clampdowns on editorial independence and more 'happy news' that reflects positively on the governing party".

"Hlaudi Motsoeneng should have been suspended and disciplined following the Public Protector's report, not promoted. Hlaudi Motsoeneng has earned a reputation as a Goebbels-like figure at the centre of President Jacob Zuma's propaganda machine".


EFF
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) political party in a statement says it is "distraught by Hlaudi Motsoeneng's appointment.

"Hlaudi Motsoeneng does not deserve to be COO, because he is a liar and a conman," says EFF member of parliament Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.


Afriforum
The civil rights group Afriforum says in a statement the shocking appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as SABC COO is "a further example of disrespect for the constitution and constitutional institutions that exist to protect the public against abuse of power and mismanagement".

Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) calls for 'immediate investigation' into 'regressive' SABC and "blatant censorship".

The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) says it is "exceedingly disconcerted" about the a growing number of problems and issues at the beleaguered South African public broadcaster, and the organisation is now calling for an "immediate investigation" into the "regressive" SABC.

"The Freedom of Expression Institute is exceedingly disconcerted by the series of occurrences involving the SABC, including the banning of radio and television political advertisements and the violation of the right to personal privacy through alleged staff surveillance," says the FXI in a statement.

"The FXI views the arbitrary banning of the advertisement through vague interpretation of the prescribed electoral regulations and the use of the draconian National Key Points Act as insouciant acts of blatant censorship".

"The FXI condemns the political interference that is clearly the root cause of the confusion at the SABC," says the institute.

"The Institute further condemns the use of the draconian National Key Points Act (NKPA) to  target and effectively silence journalists from blowing the whistle on maladministration within the public broadcaster".

"The reports of staff communication surveillance are alarming and much like the NKPA, do not belong in this era of South African democracy," says the FXI.

"The Institute calls for an immediate investigation by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications into the motivations and prudence of the decision to implement such regressive measures on the SABC".

REACTION. TopTV porn channels approval leads to widespread and mixed reactions after Icasa says ODM can start a separate porn bouquet.

A former TopTV subscriber showed how he crushed his TopTV decoder in this file photo from December 2011 when news first surfaced about TopTV's first attempt to start porn TV channels in South Africa. Reaction is once again widespread over TopTV's porn plans now given the go-ahead by the country's broadcasting regulator.


Reaction is widespread and mixed after South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) approved On Digital Media's (ODM) plan for a separate porn bouquet of three sex channels.

ODM which runs the struggling TopTV satellite pay-TV service is currently in business rescue since October 2012. ODM is trying to prevent liquidation by attempting to get approval for a massive capital injection bail-out from China's StarTimes which could become a business partner and who is willing to pump millions into the loss-making Woodmead-based operation.

TopTV wants to broadcast the three TV channels - Playboy TV, Desire TV and Private Spice - as a separate bouquet and with a rating classification of R18. The channels are provided to TopTV by Playboy TV UK / Benelux Limited in England and are uplinked through SES Platform Services in Munich, Germany to South Africa.

TopTV's application for authorisation provoked a record reaction from South Africa's society to the regulator, with more than  285 submissions which had been received.

After Icasa on Wednesday announced that ODM is granted permission to start the separate porn bouquet on TopTV, reaction is as widespread, mixed and ongoing. TopTV said it was "pleased" with Icasa's decision and won't be commenting further on the matter since the company is under business rescue.

South African pay-TV executives working in content and across the local pay-TV industry and none wanting to comment on the record publicly since their views might not be reflective of their companies, were this week also split about TopTV's porn bouquet plan approval.

"There is a market for it. Some people are hungry for this kind of content," said one. "It [porn channels] helps to drive [pay-TV] uptake but you risk alienating and losing core subscribers who are your bread and butter," said another. "It's high time," said a a third longtime person working in pay-TV content; "it won't stimulate and grow the local TV industry, rands in fact leave South Africa to pay the foreign content providers supplying this premium priced content," said another.

Cosatu, South Africa's largest trade union federation says it it "shocked and disappointed" at TopTV's porn bouquet approval. Cosatu is a shareholder in TopTV through Kepano ke Matla Investment which is an investor in TopTV. Cosatu is Kopano ke Matla's sole beneficiary.

Cosatu said last month that after TopTV's first application for a porn bouquet which was denied, that it felt "betrayed" by Kepano ke Matla and that Kepano assured Cosatu that it would "not pursue the matter further".

Cosatu says it will be meeting with civil society organisations about TopTV's porn plan. Cosatu might consider a public campaign over TopTV's porn plan.

The South African Film and Publications Board (FPB) says it advocates the protection of children from exposure to harmful content. The FPB says it is hopeful that the protection of children will not be compromised.

The Family Policy Institute (FPI), a large Christian network, called Icasa's decision to allow TopTV to broadcast porn "disappointing". "The only recourse we have is to intensify the nationwide boycott. We are calling on all South Africans to cancel their TopTV subscriptions immediately," says the FPI.

The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa, Assemblies of God of South Africa, the Baptist Union of South Africa, the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, Church of England in South Africa, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Full Gospel Church of South Africa, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa and the Association of Vineyard Churches in South Africa are taking part in and supporting a boycott of TopTV.

"It does not really matter that this would be offered on an extra bouquet. It is still TopTV, says the FPI. "This is a first for South Africa. The pay-TV operator is being allowed to introduce pornographic channels into the nation. We believe it will be extremely harmful."

"South Africa is a nation with one of the highest rates of sexual violence against women and children and this decision is bound to increase gender abuse. Tens of thousands of children have been exposed to pornography via the internet and television and now we have growing rates of children sexually abusing other children."

"TopTV has declared this as a 'victory' for democracy. There is no victory when men are reduced to slaves of their lusts and women are portrayed as mindless sex objects."

The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) calls the decision "shocking". The MJC says it "fully support the call for a boycott made against TopTV, its advertising agents and sponsors."

"We further condemn TopTV for promoting destructive material in order to save itself from impending financial ruin," and that TopTV subscribers should cancel their TopTV subscriptions. "The reason for this call is that their subscriptions gave TopTV the financial clout to now screen a pornography bouquet. It is the pornography that will sustain TopTV financially."

The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) says Icasa's decision to approve TopTV's porn channels application "will create a more competitive broadcasting industry with more vibrant players; in turn giving viewers more choice and value for money."

BREAKING. SABC admits that the broadcaster's conduct of employees and head of news at the SABC was not in line with Broadcasting Act.

In the Blacklisting Case the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) wanted to bring against the SABC before the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), the SABC is now shockingly finally admitting that the South African public broadcaster's conduct of employees, former employees and a former head of news and current affairs was not in line with the SABC's own editorial policies, broke the SABC's licence conditions in respect of news and current affairs programming, and was not in line with the Broadcasting Act the SABC is supposed to adhere to.

The SABC Blacklisting hearing was suppose to start at Icasa today and last the entire week - finally bring a sense of forward movement on a long simmering issue which first burst into the open in 2006 with allegations of censorship at the SABC and allegations of journalists and commentators being placed on a Blacklist by SABC management and deliberately kept off the air.

Meanwhile the FXI and the SABC last week reached a secret settlement which meant that the start of today's Icasa hearing into SABC Blacklisting lasted all of five minutes before the hearing was ended with a request to end it due to the settlement.

In a joint press statement by the FXI and the SABC, the FXI now says it has "withdrawn the complaint against the SABC and this settles fully and finally the FXI's complaint against the SABC".

''Consequently the SABC has adopted Guidelines on the use of commentators, experts and analysts by SABC News. In these guidelines the SABC commits to monitoring and enforcing compliance with the guidelines, and reviewing them from time to time to ensure that they remain appropriate to the broadcasting environment in which it operates."

In the joint statement the FXI and the SABC say that they're "pleased that the matter has finally been resolved".