The SABC has so far spend a shocking R22 million on the legal costs of its former COO, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, and it may rise further.

The SABC has spent a whopping R22 million and counting on the legal costs of the South African public broadcaster's famously matricless former chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng - more than the R15 million forked out on legal costs by the former president Jacob Zuma.

A reply from the former minister of communications, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane to the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party's member of parliament, Phumzile Van Damme, states that the SABC has paid millions of rand since 2013 in legal fees for Hlaudi Motsoeneng and that it might even increase "as other matters are ongoing".

Some of the legal fees include:
- SABC News anchor Vuyo Mvoko: R1 186 184
- Former SABC TV boss Verona Duwarkah: R505 985
- Helen Suzman Foundation: R1 659 490
- Democratic Alliance: R5 370 828
- Various SABC board matters: R4 990 985

"This R22 million by far exceeds the R15 million taxpayers have had to fork out on former president Jacob Zuma's legal fees," says Phumzile Van Damme.

"Just like the other litigious delinquent, Jacob Zuma, Hlaudi Motsoeneng must pay back this money to the public purse. The public should not have to pay for this one man wrecking ball's legal fees."

"In addition to the R21 million the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is pursuing in Hlaudi Motsoeneng's debt to the SABC, this R22 million must be added, making what he owes R43 million. Every single cent must be recovered from him," says Phumzile Van Damme.

"Hlaudi Motsoeneng left a trial of destruction in his wake. He flouted policy processes, demoralised, victimised and purged staff; brought the SABC's newsroom into disrepute and left the public broadcaster on the brink of collapse."

"The DA calls on the SABC to personally hold Hlaudi Motsoeneng responsible for this excessive amount of money, that can be much better spent on paying off its debts, investing in content development, finding new talent, informing and educating the public, and restoring the SABC's image as a credible and reliable news source," says Phumzile Van Damme.

South African television slammed in parliament for its ongoing shabby treatment of deaf and hearing-impaired people.

South African viewers with disabilities are tired of ongoing empty promises by the government and broadcasters to do more and what they're expected to do, like in other countries, to make TV programming more accessible, and on Tuesday broadcasters were slammed in parliament for its ongoing shabby treatment of the deaf and other people with disabilities.

While the rest of the world's TV industry is much further advanced than South Africa with things like instant subtitling, closed captioning (CC) and sign language interpreters for important TV programming, the country is still struggling to meet the very basic needs and mandated requirements for people with disabilities watching television.

While even YouTube now provides automatically provides a toggle for subtitles and closed captioning on videos, South African television lags far behind its now decade-old and hugely hyped promises of digital terrestrial television (DTT) that would offer similar kinds of services for hearing-impaired viewers.

On Tuesday, Wilma Newhoudt-Drunchen, ANC MP and South Africa's first deaf female member of parliament has had enough, and made her frustration known about the ongoing lack of consideration from the government and South African broadcasters when it comes to deaf viewers.

Ironically her speech - available on YouTube - comes with closed captioning in a way that it wasn't provided by the SABC and the Parliamentary TV channel and should be done on South African television according to regulations set out long ago by the broadcasting regulator.

"The deaf people have been watching what's been happening over the past two years. And when the previous president [Jacob Zuma] announced on TV that he would resign, the national director of the Deaf Federation of South Africa got a lot of messages on his phone because there was no interpreter provided," said Wilma Newhoudt-Drunchen. "What's happening? We don't understand what's going on. We also want to know what's going on in the country".

"Unfortunately - fortunately for some people - and unfortunately for a majority of the people. You know, I can go to Sky News (DStv 402) - it's not our channel, it's not South African. It's fully sub-titled."

"Why the president [Jacob Zuma] is talking, and the reason he is resigning - I had an opportunity to film it and put it on Facebook. To send it to other deaf people so that they can have a look and read why their president was leaving."

"e.tv had nothing. SABC - our channel - had nothing. And I'm asking you to speak to the SABC. Important national news - people with disabilities need to be included, including deaf people with what is happening in the news."

"I have to applaud DStv. Deafsa has been lobbying with them to make their programmes more accessible through subtitles. And I strongly believe that subtitles is the answer for literacy for children and adults. Literacy is very important."

"Now DStv has added - it's not just Sky News - but they've added a children's channel, Nickelodeon, a channel for children, which is now subtitled. Not all of it, not all programmes, but some."

"Department of communications, you need to lobby with the SABC. I have been on this committee for a very long time and I have lobbied and lobbied for access to information through subtitles. The best part where we can get access to information is on television. So please encourage the SABC to get more things subtitled. More is needed,especially in regard to current news and current events," said Wilma Newhoudt-Drunchen.

Wilma Newhoudt-Drunchen also took the department of communications and the minister of communications, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, to task for saying "the department will publish digital radio directives to address issues of the deaf. Me as a deaf person cannot hear the radio. Deaf people do not hear the radio."

"If it's digital radio that becomes print, oh wonderful, I'm going to be very happy if whatever is said on radio is printed so that I can read it."

Communications Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane blocks the appointment of Chris Maroleng as SABC's new chief operating officer because the ANC didn't know - report

South Africa's minister of communications, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, has reportedly blocked the appointment of Chris Maroleng as the new permanent chief operating officer (COO) of the embattled South African public broadcaster because she wasn't told beforehand and because the ANC political party didn't know.

The SABC board now acting more independently when it comes to the making of top executive appointments at the SABC, told Chris Maroleng they want him as the SABC's new COO to replace the controversial and destructive Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Chris Maroleng, formerly an eNCA (DStv 403) TV news anchor, has already resigned from the telecommunications company MTN where he was MTN's group executive for corporate affairs until the end of December 2017. 

The SABC and the SABC board wants Chris Maroleng to start as new SABC COO from 1 February 2018.

On Sunday the City Press newspaper reported that Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane refuses to accept the appointment of Chris Maroleng as SABC COO.

Meanwhile leadership of the ruling ANC political party in South Africa are reportedly upset that they were out of the loop regarding the appointment and not knowing beforehand that Chris Maroleng was to be appointed as SABC COO.

Apparently ABC leaders became used to "be the first to know about key appointments in the SABC" - something that is suddenly no longer happening. 

On Monday Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane will reportedly have to appear before the ANC's top 6 officials to explain what is going on and why the ANC didn't know sooner.

The ANC political party is reportedly "concerned that some of those who made it onto the new SABC board were aligned with organisations seen to be opposed to the ANC".

Minister of communications Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane doesn't know that the SABC plans to appoint Chris Maroleng as new chief operating officer.

South Africa's minister of communications Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane was unaware that the South African public broadcaster is set to appoint Chris Maroleng as the SABC's new chief operating officer (COO) - indicating that the SABC is apparently no longer looping the minister of communications in regarding top executive appointments.

Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said she was clueless about Chris Maroleng becoming the new SABC COO who will be replacing the controversial and famously matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng, although SABC management and board sources said Chris Maroleng's official appointment is being finalised.

Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said in a terse statement that she has “no knowledge of any official appointment”.

“The minister of communications has noted the media reports about the appointment of a chief operating officer at the SABC,” said Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane in a statement.

All appointments of the chief operating officer, CEO and chief financial officer (CFO) of state-owned entities are done through cabinet processes and therefore the announcements of the outcome are made by cabinet.”

“It is the minister’s responsibility to present any appointment of executives of the SOEs under the department of communications through cabinet processes. To this end, the minister has no knowledge of any official appointment of a COO of SABC.”

That the SABC is planning on appointing Chris Maroleng as COO without the knowledge of the minister of communications signals that the SABC is following the court decision in late-2017 affirming the SABC board's right to make all appointments of staff - especially of its top executives - without the prior approval or interference of the minister of communications.

Although the minister of communications is appealing the ruling, the communications minister has agreed to abide by the affirmation of the SABC's independent appointments process until the appeal can be heard in court.

The public pressure group, SOS Coalition, in a statement says it "notes with concern" the minister of communication's "statement that alleges that the SABC’s CEO, COO and CFO appointments are to be made by government through cabinet processes".

"The SABC is not an ordinary SOE, this fact was highlighted in recent court rulings."

Minister of communications, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, wants to cut down the SABC board from 12 to 9 members and reduce quorum number to just 7 people.

South Africa's minister of communications, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, wants to dowsize the board of South Africa's troubled public broadcaster by cutting down the tally of SABC board members from 12 to just 9, and the number needed for a quorum to just 7.

A downsized SABC board will make the South African public broadcaster, plagued by government and political interference, even more susceptible to potential politically motivated "push through" rubber-stamp decisions, something that in the past led to major turmoil not just within the SABC board, but inside the whole operational workings of the SABC as a broadcaster.

The Sunday Independent reports that Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane supports the hugely controversial bill, introduced by her shamed and destructive predecessor, Faith Muthambi, to cut down the SABC board from 12 to 9 people and to reduce the number of board members necessary for a quorum.

The bill, if passed, will also give South Africa's minister of communications sweeping powers to usurp the hiring and firing of SABC board members.

While South Africa's president currently has the power to recommend the appointment and removal of SABC board members, that power will move to the minister of communications - something that will turn the SABC from a public, into a state broadcaster.

Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane is also planning to appeal a very lengthy, and clear cut judgment of the High Court that confirmed that the SABC board - not the minister of communications - is the authority to appoint the SABC's top-most executives.

The SABC is currently limping along without a permanent CEO, COO or CFO, with all three positions that continue to be filled by executives in acting positions.

Acting SABC CEO Nomsa Philiso on death of broadcaster's legal boss: 'We're losing people in critical areas'; 'we're becoming very thin with the losses, so it's difficult'.

Acting SABC CEO Nomsa Philiso, speaking at the funeral on Saturday of the SABC's legal boss Sizwe Vilakazi, said the beleaguered South African public broadcaster is losing people in critical areas.

Sizwe Vilakazi was gunned down and killed last Saturday night when he was shot and killed through the counter at the Madisenke Liquor Depot in Masinyane Street in Tsakane on the East Rand where he was helping out at the liquor store he co-owned with his father.

At the funeral, the now fired former controversial SABC chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng appeared and also spoke. The funeral was also attended by the new minister of communications, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane.

At the funeral service on Saturday morning Nomsa Philiso said it's been a tough year for the SABC, with SABC staff dying nearly every month.

"We're losing people in critical areas, we're losing people in the core business. But the actually the operations - we're becoming very thin with the losses so it's difficult," Nomsa Philiso told SABC News.

"And this is over and above all our other challenges and still we expect our teams to rise - but I always say the one thing I always say about the SABC in the face of adversity and I'm hoping that they'll dig deep and one more time rise as they always do."

Sizwe Vilakazi was laid to rest at the Brakpan cemetery.