Invalid SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng hijacks Mandoza's funeral to launch into yet another inappropriate rant: 'Problem with transformation is black people'.

The SABC's belligerent [job title unknown] Hlaudi Motsoeneng hijacked the funeral of kwaito star Mandoza on Friday, launching into yet another jaw-droppingly inappropriate rant from the podium that the controversial public broadcaster enfant terrible is known for, this time blaming black people for the lack of transformation,

Instead of talking about the dead Mandoza (real name: Mduduzi Tshabalala) and doing a proper tribute to the celebrity who passed away, a finger-waving Hlaudi Motsoeneng usurped the funeral proceedings by talking about, and making it about himself, and his work at the SABC, vowing he will not be taken away.

While funeral speakers were told to limit their tributes to 2 minutes, the SABC's caustic nkalakatha launched into an off-topic rant of 13 minutes, exactly as he's often been seen doing at SABC press conferences, The New Age Breakfast briefings on SABC2 and in Morning Live interviews where he interrupts and keeps a stream of consciousness going without any intervention.

"When people talk about transformation, they speak English. I don't speak English. I speak implementation. There is difference between speaking English and speaking intelligence. Some of us intelligence is in our blood," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"I have been observing when people have been saying 'Hlaudi is out'. You can't decide for my future. I will decide for my future," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng at the funeral.

"And let me tell you, if I leave the SABC it will not be the first time. I left the SABC. I came back stronger and stronger. I hear people saying 'Hlaudi stress'. Hlaudi is stress free. I don't know stress. Maybe you are stress yourself because Hlaudi is delivering."

Hlaudi Motsoeneng slammed black people as "the problem" of transformation.

"We can't discuss transformation after 20 years. Actually, who's the problem in South Africa? The problem is black people. If you ask black people, they complain about transformation but they are in charge for this transformation. How do you complain about yourself?"

Hlaudi Motsoeneng said he introduced the SABC's 90% local content decision alone and nobody else and kept ranting, telling funeral director Mzwake Mbuli after 10 minutes of talking "just give me 3 minutes my brother, this is 90% [I'm talking about]".

"For the first time I was called by two president [sic] in Africa. I'm not going to mention their names. I'm going to meet them. They said to me, 'Hlaudi, now we want to use South Africa as benchmark because we want to introduce 90% in our countries."

"I have my own belief. And my belief is unique," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"When I was born, I was an ordinary Hlaudi. And I'm going to make sure an ordinary employee delivers."

"You know what is good about me - and I'm not boasting. When SABC dismissed me, because I was empowering workers at the SABC," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng who told those attending Mandoza's funeral to "pay your TV licence".

■ Mzwakhe Mbuli, a poet who also organised the massively flopped Thank You SABC Concert, further ruined Mandoza's funeral with his own relentless barrage of inappropriate comments, praising the SABC at Mandoza's funeral that was held at the Grace Bible Church in Soweto.

Mzwakhe Mbuli slammed people who commented on Mandoza's weight and allegedly spread rumours that he had died [while he was still alive] and warned people to "pray and apologise to God".

After less than 2000 people pitched at the Orlando Stadium that can hold 40 000 and that Mzwakhe Mbuli said he would fill as the SABC broadcast scenes of an empty stadium, Mzwakhe Mbuli used the funeral podium to slam those who said the concert was empty, saying it was an insult to say things like that.

"Mandoza did not perform at an empty stadium. You must apologise for that too," said Mzwakhe Mbuli.

Organisers of disastrous Thank You SABC Concert: 'We do not define success by numbers', slams 'vicious media' for making whole thing 'a Mandoza cancer story'.

Organisers of the disastrous Thank You SABC Concert that turned into a spectacular flop two weeks ago at the Orlando Stadium now say "we do not define success by numbers" and now blames the "viscious media" for turning it into a "Mandoza cancer story like when Princess Diana was chased and died".

The shocking show that was put up as a self-indulgent celebration of the controversial SABC boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng's abrupt decision in May for 90% local music on the SABC's radio stations lurched from chaos to crisis in the few days since the concert was announced on a Tuesday for the upcoming Saturday and turned into a highly embarrassing flop that inflicted further brand damage to the SABC's already tarnished public reputation.

As artists billed to perform and even the SABC choir were no-shows at the infamous concert, artists said they were not paid and pulled out, while only around 1 000 people showed up in the stadium that can hold 40 000 people for the expensive flop that started hours late.

Before the show, organiser Mzwakhe Mbuli who did the concert with the controversial concert promotor Morris Roda, promised to "fill up the stadium and fill up the stomachs of the artists" with 100 artists - none of which were made good on.

The SABC helped to hype the "record breaking" nature of the Thank You SABC concert beforehand, with Mzwakhe Mbuli going as far as saying that "what we are doing must go to the Guinness Book of Records," because the SABC is better than CNN International, the BBC and Al Jazeera that "never had a concert where people in London or artists in London will say 'Thank you CNN or BBC".

Mzwake Mbuli is now explaining the Thank You SABC Concert failure, telling SABC News that "we do not define success by numbers".

Mzwake Mbuli has now turned around and blames a lack of sponsors for the concert's flop, telling SABC News "It is unfortunate that we did not get funding. We ended up either thinking:  Should we go ahead or not? We soldiered on; we continued".

'Vicious media turned it into a Mandoza cancer story'

Mzwake Mbuli also turned on the media in a tirade on how the media didn't cover the Thank You SABC Concert correctly. 

"The media is vicious. The whole thing became a Mandoza cancer story. Not being sensitive to the family. The Mandoza cancer [was like the] Princess Diana chase until she crashed and died. Mandela it was announced long before his actual death".

"With Mandoza, the cancer thing. It was all about Mandoza is terminal. Wednesday. Thursday. Every call; email is about Mandoza. The audience, the people who attended the festival on Saturday, it was big news: 'Mandoza dead. Mandoza dead.'

'You can imagine the pressure. Then later Mandoza came. The print media on Monday asked who forced Mandoza to perform. Now then they changed the story because there was nothing tangible they could find corruption, scandal."

"Then they changed, saying the minister of communications Faith Muthambi, herself went to pick up Mandoza at home to prove and dispel the rumour that Mandoza is alive. The minister came wearing in black, she was late, she was coming from a funeral," said Mzwake Mbuli.

"Mandoza phoned after the whole hullabaloo after him having cancer, midweek, Mandoza himself called he wanted to perform. Mandoza came with his wife, with his children."

Mzwakhe Mbuli said another similar concert could take place again "provided big business, those with dollars, will come forward, and give us money upfront. Then we will book artists and celebrate".

South African artists lash out at the SABC and boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng on live television; saying they're not benefitting from 90% local needletime, 'doors are closed to us'.

South African artists have lashed out at the SABC over controversial boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng's order of 90% localmusic airplay on SABC radio stations and Saturday's upcoming Thank You SABC Music Concert at the Orlando Stadium, saying they're not benefitting, are being excluded and that despite multiple promises "the doors are closed to us".

The SABC got a rude wake-up call on Thursday morning during the live broadcast of the latest The New Age Breakfast briefing during Morning Live from Woodmead on SABC2 when musicians started to take Hlaudi Motsoeneng and the SABC to task for allegedly not making good on promises to give airplay to everybody's music.

Although the topic was about the benefits of Hlaudi Motsoeneng's local needletime diktat introduced in May, the famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) who regularly appear as a panelist at the TNA Business Briefings was absent.

Furious artists told the SABC they're angry and not benefitting from the SABC's 90% local airplay decree, nor from the upcoming and hastily arranged Thank You SABC Music Concert that wants to fill the 40 000 seater Orlando Stadium on Saturday for a 12-hour concert from 10:00 to 22:00 with 100 artists.


'The doors are closed to us - trust me'
After Tebogo Sethatho from the Music Association of South Africa told artists that Hlaudi Motsoeneng has ensured that the "doors are so open you wouldn't believe" over the 90% local music quota, an artists named Patello objected and said "I've made extensive research. The doors are closed - trust me. I phoned Hlaudi twice and he got surprised. The doors are closed."

Presenter Palesa Chubisi promptly cut him off.

Then artist Romeo Ramuada, from the South African Young Music Forum said "as young people, we've been promised dreams for a long time. When you're talking about music festivals, the line-up only has artists who appear on TV 100 times a day and so on".

"But you're coming here and telling us you've got festivals and it's Heritage month and so on. We are saying as the youth we want to see development. We don't have to be promised dreams."

"The doors are closed. Us as young people, our music don't play on radios. So we mustn't come here and pretend as if we are happy. When we talk about the context of Thank You SABC Music Concert. Where are young people there? But now you tell us we must be happy."

Again Palesa Chubisi interrupted and shut him down.

Vusithemba Ndima, acting director-general of the department of arts and culture, said the department support festivals like the SABC's Thank You SABC Music Concert, but doesn't control the line-up.

"As we provide support to all the organisers of these particular festivals, we stress the point that opportunities should be given to the youth".

Poet and organiser of the Thank You SABC Music Concert, Mzwakhe Mbuli said "the line-up that we are going to introduce. It's known names and names that are not known."

"This has never happened before. So there is no template of what is going to happen on Saturday."


'Howling is not going to solve anything'
Bessie Tugwana, new SABC head of corporate affairs said accusations of "closed doors" are unfair "because last month we had an indaba with the musicians at the SABC."

"We said, come to us as a one voice, united voice, which was agreed. So we are waiting for that voice at SABC. So it's unfair that today we are accused of not opening our door. But besides that, anyone who knocks, who comes to the 27th floor, the office of the COO. He stops anything and listens to you. It's a fact," said Bessie Tugwana. "But can we as SABC, hear this one voice".

As the broadcast continued to become more and more awkward, angry musicians then started shouting and Palesa Chubisi struggled to maintain control. "Can I call for calm?" asked Tebogo Sethatho from the stage.

"Really, this is something to be a celebration mode. Not fighting. And there must also be an element of respect shown," said Palesa Chubisi.

"Who is celebrating?" asked another artist to loud applause. "We need inclusivity in this thing. The process must be transparency. We filled the busses to protect the 90%. But not the performances, that line-up has no-one who has been at the protection of the SABC. And SABC we have one voice."

Tebogo Sethatho said local musicians "shouldn't put sour grapes into this celebration" of the Thank You SABC Music Concert. "I am appealing for calm and howling is not going to solve anything. And as leaders sitting here we understand the concerns."