Some SABC board members plan to 're-appoint' invalid Hlaudi Motsoeneng as 'acting chief operating officer', decision slammed by board member Krish Naidoo.

Here is the draft letter that was leaked to TV with Thinus on Thursday by SABC insiders.

SABC board members - including Hlaudi Motsoeneng who isn't supposed to be an employee of the SABC anymore according to the Supreme Court of Appeal (so how can he vote?) - were asked this week to vote him(self) "back" into the SABC as "acting chief operating officer (COO).

On Monday after a protracted court case that the famously matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng kept appealing, the Supreme Court of Appeal found Hlaudi Motsoeneng's appointment as permanent COO invalid.

After the Supreme Court of Appeal ruling, some SABC board members - in a plan spearheaded by SABC board chairperson Obert Maguvhe to keep the "rare skill" Hlaudi Motsoeneng at the SABC, hatched a plan for a "round robin" vote to vote Hlaudi Motsoeneng back as "acting COO".

The Public Protector in her February 2014 found that Hlaudi Motsoeneng is a liar

The Public Protector in her February 2014 found that Hlaudi Motsoeneng "should never have been appointed at the SABC".

The Public Protector in her February 2014 found that Hlaudi Motsoeneng was directly involved in several instances of gross maladministration, dramatic salary increases for himself and others that ballooned the SABC salary bill, and implicated him in getting rid of everyone at the SABC who testified against him at an earlier disciplinary hearing.

In the draft resolution sent to SABC board members, as part of a convoluted back-door plan, the minister of communications Faith Muthambi is asked to reappoint Hlaudi Motsoeneng as acting COO.

The department of communications says it hasn't yet received such a letter.

"Since the next board meeting is scheduled for 28 October 2016 the board is requested to recommend that the Honourable Minister approves the appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as the acting COO for the period 19 September 2016 to 18 December 2016 on a Round Robin basis," says the draft document.

"The appointment will be tabled at the next board meeting for ratification."

SABC board member Krish Naidoo in reports said the SABC board's plan is illegal and that he didn't vote yes to support the resolution.

Krish Naidoo told The Times and EWN radio that "when a court says Hlaudi Motsoeneng should not be COO and you appoint him acting COO, it means you haven't applied your mind".

"The SABC is an important institution. The president and the ANC should open their mouths now and say something decisive".

Krish Naidoo slammed other SABC board members saying those who voted in favour of appointing Hlaudi Motsoeneng as "acting COO" are "acting contrary to the rule of law".

BREAKING. SABC charges its controversial and matricless boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng with faking qualifications, abuse of power, dishonesty, abuse of position.

The SABC's controversial and famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng stands accused of extreme dishonest in faking qualifications, extreme dishonesty in misleading the SABC, abuse of power as COO, abuse of position as acting COO, gross misconduct, as well as abuse of position as acting COO of allegedly firing senior staff members who had a different opinion than him.

These charges are contained in the charge sheet the SABC served on its second highest ranking executive who has to appear at a disciplinary hearing on 30 October.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng has not been suspended pending the disciplinary hearing - the issue of contention and the crux of just one of the protracted court cases against him - yet on Friday he has suddenly placed himself on "voluntary leave".

The minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, has appointed Sandile July from Werksmans Attorneys to initiate the disciplinary proceedings against Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

The disciplinary proceedings which is set for 30 October will be chaired by advocate William Mokhare SC.

According to Hlaudi Motsoeneng's disciplinary hearing charge sheet, signed by the SABC chairperson prof. Mbulaheni Obert Maguvhe, informs Hlaudi Motsoeneng that if he is found guilty "strong action [can] be taken against you, which may include your dismissal".

Hlaudi Motsoeneng is charged with:

1.Gross dishonesty alternatively misrepresentation in that:

The SABC records show that you commenced employment at the SABC on or about 1 March 1995 as a trainee journalist. When you applied for the position (trainee journalist), you completed an application form. 

In the application form you completed you recorded that you had passed standard 10 at age 23 with the following subjects: English E, South Sotho E, Afrikaans E, Bibs E, and History F.

You were appointed to the above-mentioned position on the basis that you had passed standard 10 as indicated on your application form.

You continued to make the same claim and representation in your subsequent applications for employment at the SABC.

It is alleged that you misrepresented the facts relating to your qualifications in that you did not possess the standard 10 you alleged to have passed in your application form. 

You knew that the representation made in your application form was not true, yet you proceeded and made it nonetheless.

2.Gross dishonesty in that:

In 2003 you applied for the position of executive producer: current affairs with the SABC. In your CV which was part of the application,you stated that you were at some stage "appointed as head of communications at the department of tourism and economical affairs in Northern Cape".

Upon investigation,it was established that the above representation you made in your CV was not true. It is alleged that you were never employed at the aforesaid department. You accordingly misled the SABC into believing that you were once employed at the Department of Tourism in the Northern Cape.

3.Abuse of power, alternatively gross negligence in that:

Sometime during 2011 the position of chief finance officer (CFO) became vacant at the SABC.

It is alleged that you together with other members of the selection panel violated the prescripts of the recruitment and selection policy in appointing Gugu Duda after the initial interview process. Msulwa Daca was never appointed to the position despite being the recommended candidate.

It is alleged that you together with other members of the selection panel violated the prescripts of the recruitment and selection policy in appointing Gugu Duda after the initial interview process. Gugu Duda never even applied for the position in question. It is alleged that you instructed the SABC Human Resources to accept the CV of Gugu Duda notwithstanding the fact that it was submitted after the interviews were concluded.

Notwithstanding that Gugu Duda never applied for the position in question and was never shortlisted,you nevertheless interviewed her. Upon being interviewed, it was established that Gugu Duda ranked the second lowest in the list of interviewed candidates. You proceeded to recommend her for appointment. 

It is alleged that you have abused your position as acting chief operating officer in this regard; alternatively you were grossly negligent in executing your obligations in relation to this appointment.

4.Gross misconduct in that:

On 1 February 2012 you transferred Ms Motsweni from the position of general manager: compliance to the position: head: monitoring, compliance and operation services. This is a new position , which you created.You offered her a fixed term contract for the duration of 5 years at R1.5 million.

It is alleged that this position was never advertised either internally or externally, as required by the SABC recruitment and selection policy. It is further alleged that there was no interview process conducted.

5.Abuse of position in that:

It is alleged that during your tenure as acting COO, you unfairly dismissed senior staff members of the SABC for differing in opinion with you. 

It is alleged that you directly initiated the dismissal or termination of employment of the following individuals: Bernard Koma, Hosia Jiyane, Sello Thulo, Montlenyane Diphoko, Mapule Mbalathi and Ntswoaki Ramaphosa.

6.Gross misconduct in that:

You unilaterally increased your salary and those of Ms Motsweni, Thobeka Khumalo contrary to the provisions of Part IV of the SABC personnel regulations.

Your actions in this regard constituted unauthorised expenditure in terms of section 1 of the Public Finance Management Act.

SABC gets its 5th consecutive qualified audit in 5 years; SABC once again fails to get a clean audit, while chairperson, communication minister are happy about it.

The SABC is getting its 5th consecutive qualified audit for its latest annual report - and instead of reporting how terribly bad it is, which it is, the South African public broadcaster is reporting spin from both the minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, as well as the SABC chairperson, prof. Mbulaheni Obert Maguvhe on how great it is.

A qualified audit from the Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu means that the Auditor-General (AG) found types of situations which are completely out line with the generally accepted accounting principles - as opposed to an unqualified audit which the SABC is supposed to be getting.

For the past 5 years the SABC has gotten a qualified audit. The SABC even deteriorated so far with its annual financial report in 2012/2013 that the struggling public broadcaster got a disclaimer from the AG.

A disclaimer of opinion is the worst audit opinion from the Auditor-General and the most disturbing rating.

Here is the painfully, and shamefully obvious: What it means is that the SABC AGAIN DIDN'T MANAGE to get what is called a CLEAN AUDIT. 

For YET ANOTHER YEAR in a row.

That is what the SABC should be reporting and have reported to SABC licence fee payers and the public as its main focus and angle - but isn't and didn.t

Imagine your child throws out three glasses of wine or three mugs of coffee or tea on your living room carpet.

No parent in the world is going to praise the child and say "Oh, that great. It's only three glasses of red wine toppled over on my carpet; last week when friends visited, it was five." You will justifiably be furious. 

Yet that is exactly what the SABC is doing - and there's no anger at the SABC at all over failing. Instead the SABC and the country's minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, is praising the very bad situation at the SABC because it is less bad than previous years.

The SABC held the South African public broadcaster's annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday to officially release its annual report and financial statements for 2014/2015.

The SABC reported - as did its controversial and famously matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng as chief operating officer (COO) in parliament last month - that the SABC now has R1 billion in the bank.

SABC chairperson prof. Mbulaheni Obert Maguvhe spinned the situation - saying not that the SABC is accountable, or most accountable, but saying:

"We are more accountable and that management looked at the previous AG's report and came up with an action plan made us to reduce the number of the qualifications - this is a massive improvement from 8 to 3 that is what I can attribute to the reduction of the qualifications."

Faith Muthambi is ecstatic with the SABC spilling wine (again) on the carpet she is responsible for - perhaps because it it's her own house.

"It was a very exciting meeting in the sense that the SABC has managed to decrease their qualifications."

"In past financial year, they had 8 qualifications now they have decreased to 3 and you know the history of the SABC when it comes to issues of financial performance. I am so excited with this progress that the SABC is making," said Faith Muthambi.

Look at the SABC's story on Friday, check the spin, and think for yourself whether how the SABC News is reporting this, is fair and accurate about the public broadcaster itself.

Communications minister Faith Muthambi told axed SABC board member Hope Zinde: 'but Baba loves Hlaudi. We must support him.'

Shocking correspondence between the minister of communications, Faith Muthambi and an axed SABC board member shows how Faith Muthambi allegedly directly interfered in the purging of SABC board members who were against the appointment of the SABC's famously matricless boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng, with ousted former SABC board member Hope Zinde writing that Faith Muthambi told her "But baba loves Hlaudi".

Faith Muthambi's reference "baba" is a reference to president Jacob Zuma.

Faith Muthambi told SABC board member Hope Zinde - who got axed because she voiced opposition to Hlaudi Motsoeneng: "but baba loves Hlaudi. He loves him so much. We must support him."

As the unstable SABC board keeps lurching from crisis to crisis, former SABC board members Hope Zinde, Rachel Kalidass and Ronnie Lubisi were all axed the past few months, allegedly through Faith Muthambi using the Companies Act, not the Broadcasting Act to interfere in the running of the SABC board.

While Dikeledi Tsotetsi, the acting chairperson of the ANC study group on communications said in June that "we have received no formal complaints from those who may have felt they had been treated unfairly" and that "we are of the view that its time to close this chapter and allow the minister of communications space to continue her work with the SABC", is now come to light that the ousted SABC board members wrote several letters to Faith Muthambi, and to complain about her alleged undue interference.

Hope Zinde also wrote that she had "dire concerns" about the contract in which the SABC sold access to the public broadcaster's archives to pay-TV behemoth MultiChoice.

Hope Zinde also complained about Hlaudi Motsoeneng -.

The Public Protector in February 2014 in a damning report found that the controversial chief operating officer (COO) should "never have been appointed at the SABC" and lied about having a matric.

As SABC board member, Hope Zinde wrote that Hlaudi Motsoeneng is "a stumbling block" in the proper functioning of the SABC board.

"At [parliament's] portfolio committee on 22 June, Daniel Mantsha, [Faith Muthambi's lawyer] argued that none of the SABC board members had contested their dismissal and that there was therefore no reason to consider their reinstatement."

"Yet a few days after the committee meeting, one of the axed SABC board members, Ronnie Lubisi made a public statement declaring that he had in fact lodged a complaint," says Gavin Davis, the Democratic Alliance's (DA) MP.

Interestingly it has now also come to light that Daniel Mantsha was struck off the roll of attorneys in 2007.

It was on Daniel Mantsha's advice that Faith Muthambi told parliament she intervened in the governance of the SABC which led to the purging of Ronnie Lubisi, Rachel Kalidass and Hope Zinde.

Hope Zinde wrote to Joyce Moloi-Moropa, the chairperson of parliament's portfolio committee on communications, writing that "only the members who did not support the appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng received these threatening letters [from Faith Muthambi] and are as such targeted".

In another letter Hope Zinde wrote in March this year to Joyce Moloi-Moropa, she said that the SABC chairperson prof. Obert Maguvhe  "is representing Hlaudi Motsoeneng's interests" and not that of the SABC board.

Hope Zinde wrote that Faith Muthambi then informed her that: "But baba loves Hlaudi. He loves him so much. We must support him."

Prof. Obert Mbulaheni Maguvhe appointed as permanent new SABC chairperson; Leah Khumalo appointed as deputy SABC chairperson.

Prof. Obert Mbulaheni Maguvhe, the current acting SABC chairperson has been appointed to the position permanently on Friday by president Jacob Zuma.

President Jacob Zuma appointed SABC board member Leah Khumalo as new deputy SABC chairperson.

In a statement on Friday afternoon from the presidency, president Jacob Zuma says the appointments take immediate effect.

The appointments of Prof. Obert Mbulaheni Maguvhe and Leah Khumalo were swiftly condemned by opposition political parties, the IFP and the Democratic Alliance (DA) calling it "ANC cadre-deployment" and that the struggling SABC and SABC board will only start to function effectively when its separated from politics.

Prof. Obert Mbulaheni Maguvhe took over as acting SABC chairperson at the beginning of the year after the scandalous exit of the disgraced and shamed Ellen Tshabalala who left in December 2014 after she was exposed for lying about tertiary qualifications she didn't have.

Prof. Obert Mbulaheni Maguvhe, who happens to be blind, then presided over the purging of the SABC board members Hope Zinde, Rachel Kalidass and Ronnie Lubisi, leaving the unstable and gutted SABC board without a quorum.

The SABC board is supposed to have 12 board members but only 6 remain after ongoing resignations in 2014 and the firings in 2015. The SABC board requires 9 SABC board members for a quorum to exist.

"President Jacob Zuma has wished Professor Obert Mbulaheni Maguvhe and Leah Khumalo all the best in their new responsibilities," says presidential spokesperson Harold Maloka.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 12 April 2015.

Pressure is mounting on the SABC to suspend its head of news, Jimi Matthews over allegations of assault.
Jimi Matthews has not been suspended for allegedly assaulting a female SABC technician; Jimi Matthews appeared before a grievance hearing at the SABC this past Tuesday but it was postponed to 21 April because witnesses were not there.


Acting SABC board chairman Obert Maguvhe says the fired SABC board members are gone.
"Once we remove a person, they are removed" he says over the recently fired Hope Zinde, Rachel Kalidass and Ronnie Lubisi. Meanwhile Joyce Moloi-Moropa, the chairperson of parliament's communications portfolio committee, did get a legal opinion after the minister of communications, Faith Muthambi said the SABC is a state-run company and the SABC board members were fired according to that act.


"Diabolical and secret" MultiChoice and SABC deal over SABC News and SABC Entertainment channels criticised
Although SABC News (DStv 404) and the SABC Entertainment channel which will be launched soon on DStv are produced by the SABC as a public broadcaster, these two channels are exclusively made and available only for MultiChoice and no other satellite TV broadcasters.

Read the entire SABC MultiChoice SABC News SABC Entertainment channels contract here as a public interest document, publicly available, involving South Africa's public broadcaster, as part of Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) case it is making at South Africa's Competition Tribunal.

National Geographic Channel (DStv 181) now wants to get into drama series.
After the recent success of Killing Jesus, and following Discovery Channel's Klondike and others, the factual channel now wants to do full-length drama series and drama mini-series as part of a drama strategy since "the market is changing".

MultiChoice Swaziland isn't scared of looming competition in Swaziland.
Swazi Observer reports that digital terrestrial television (DTT) in Swaziland will bring 20 new TV channels - Swazi TV, Channel S, as well as 12 state broadcaster TV channels, and 6 TV channels from new players in the market. MultiChoice says competition will "stimulate the market".

FOX is working on new drama series, Aftermath.
Like The Last Ship the drama will revolve around what happens when a deadly worldwide flu pandemic breaks out.

The first trailer for the new upcoming science fiction drama series Dark Matter.
In this new drama series starting in June, six people wake up on a derelict spaceship and have no idea who they are, how they got there, or why. Each one has a special skill. And they're "dangerous". Dark Matter is from the writer-producers of Stargate.