SABC's suspended financial manager, Tian Olivier, returns to work after having been suspended for 5 months after SABC provides no proof on allegations.

The SABC's suspended financial manager, Tian Olivier returned to work today after he was suspended for a whopping five months over unfounded and unproved charges that he "leaked" information to the media about the SABC's expensive World Cup studio.

Tian Olivier – the financial manager at SABC Audience Services and who was the acting SABC CEO before Jimi Matthews took over and who quit weeks ago – was abruptly suspended by the SABC earlier this year.

Tian Olivier was suspended after revelations that the controversial SABC chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng splurged R42.3 million on a new studio commissioned from Vision View Productions, without the contract going to tender.

According to documents, the SABC was allowed to "deviate from normal procurement processes in order to appoint Vision View for the construction of a multipurpose set".

Tian Olivier was suspended on vague and unfounded allegations that he allegedly "leaked" information about the very expensive cost and procurement of the Rugby World Cup SABC set to the media, despite the SABC’s personnel regulation not making provision for a suspension on these allegations.

After five months, and without any communication whatsoever by audit or investigators, the SABC failed to find any evidence of wrongdoing and the trade union Bemawu obtained an arbitration award in favour of Tian Olivier, uplifting his unfair suspension.

Growing concerns about the process followed and the validity of the appointment process of the new SABC CEO Frans Matlala.

Concerns are growing around the process followed and the validity of the appointment of Frans Matlala who the South African Broadcasting Corporation yesterday announced as its new CEO.

The rudderless SABC, which is also limping along with a gutted SABC board, hasn't had a CEO for a year and five months since Lulama Mokhobo abruptly quit in February 2014 without explanation and left with a golden handshake just a few months into her 5 year contract

At its Auckland Park headquarters the SABC yesterday announced that Frans Matlala, a former banking executive who've been an advisory consultant for the SABC for a year, has been appointed as the new SABC CEO.

Frans Matlala was already identified in October 2014 as the frontrunner to become the new SABC CEO as fears grew that Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the controversial and famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) would be appointed as CEO.

SABC executives Tian Olivier and Anton Heunis who had both served as acting SABC CEO in the past were the other two contenders for the position. In April Anton Heunis suddenly left the SABC as acting CEO.

Frans Matlala said he hopes to serve as SABC CEO for the entire length of his contract. Since 2009 several SABC CEO's either left or were fired long before the end of their tenure.

The non-profit media monitoring organisation Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) slammed the lack of transparency in the SABC CEO appointment process.

"It is very difficult to comment on a process where there has been so little transparency," William Bird, MMA director tells TV with Thinus.

"We would like to know: When was the SABC CEO position advertised? Who were the top three candidates, when did the interviews take place, who made the decision at SABC board level and when was person appointed?"

"We heard contradictory statements at the SABC press conference. We we told that Peter Matlala was appointed by the current reduced SABC board. Hlaudi Motsoeneng then said that actually the SABC CEO appointment had taken place under the older SABC board before the two members were removed, and that the delay was in the minister of communications agreeing to the appointment."

"It cannot be both," says William Bird.

"It seems that yet again instead of improving corporate governance we have another controversial SABC appointment that is likely to yield more challenges in the future."

The SOS Coalition, a public pressure group representing a vast number of the biggest industry stakeholders in South Africa's public broadcasting sphere, is also raising concern about the appointment process.

"We need to know when the recommendation was made and whether the SABC board that made this recommendation was, indeed quorate, or whether, yet again, it operated unlawfully to push for an appointment viewed as suitable by government," Sekoetlane Phamodi, SOS Coalition coordinator tells TV with Thinus.

"There remains the tender issue of the legality of the Memorandum of Incorporation," says Sekoetlane Phamodi.

"[It] is incompatable with the basic tenets of public broadcasting which require the institution to be demonstrably independent of government influence in how it allows the government of the day to cherry-pick the editor-in-chief of the SABC as well as the very people that direct the operations and finances of the SABC."

"This cannot be allowed to be the case lest the SABC is reverted back into a state broadcaster as we had under the erstwhile apartheid regime," says Sekoetlane Phamodi.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) political party also says there are questions around the appointment process of Frans Matlala.

"With only 6 members, the SABC board is three short of the quorum it requires to make legally binding decisions such as the appointment of a new CEO. The DA is looking into this," says Gavin Davis, DA MP and a member of parliament's portfolio committee on communications.

The Congress of the People (COPE) said it doesn't support Frans Matlala's appointment as SABC CEO.

"He is a close ally of Hlaudi Motsoeneng. We don't think that there will be any changes because Hlaudi Motsoeneng will still be in control. This man will only be a flower pot and Hlaudi Motsoeneng will still run the show," said COPE.

Leah Khumalo, new SABC board deputy chairperson, said that "we believe we had enough quorum to make the appointment. We are sure all legal requirements were satisfied".

Hlaudi Motsoeneng said at the Auckland Park press conference that "Frans Matlala was appointed even before the three SABC board members left the organisation. It is not a new matter. The only issue that was outstanding, it was the approval from the minister".

The minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, congratulated Frans Matlala who is a supporter of Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"We wish Frans Matlala all the best as he undertakes the important task of ensuring that our public broadcaster delivers on its mandate of fulfilling the public's right to know, educate, and entertain as well as nation building."

"We are looking forward to working with him, the SABC board and the entire leadership of the SABC in realising their obligation to serve the whole population."

SABC: We are concerned about the decrease in audiences in television - especially on SABC3, says acting SABC CEO, Tian Olivier.

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The SABC is concerned about the decrease in its television audiences - especially on SABC3, the South African public broadcaster's only commercial TV channel.

"We are concerned about the decrease in audiences in SABC television, especially on SABC3," Tian Olivier the acting SABC CEO told parliament's portfolio committee on communications on Friday.

"There are some schedule changes planned in the new financial year to strengthen the product offering specifically in local content on SABC3, but also to strengthen some of the other content areas on SABC1 and SABC2 to continue to grow our audiences and to deliver better value to our audiences and higher audience ratings for our advertiser."

"We're investing a lot more in local content," said Tian Olivier.

"Also important for us in operations is the stability of our broadcast schedule. It is a challenge for us to deliver all the content on three television channels".

"We are able to invest more into TV content which is a major gain for us. We are in the financial position again to put back into TV content".

"Regarding programming cost we are able to increase the amount of programmes that we have in stock from 210 days at the end of the financial year to 240 days in the next year, to try and boost the level of content that we have for television, and then gradually bring it down to 220 days of stock and then 200 days of stock," said Tian Olivier.

"After the 2014 World Cup we're going to put more local content on television," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the famously matricless acting chief operating officer (COO).

SABC has a target of R25 million in advertising revenue it wants to make in the 2014/2015 financial year from SABC News.

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The SABC has an advertising revenue target of R25 million - that is the amount of money the South African public broadcaster wants to make in advertising during the current 2014/2015 financial year from its SABC News (DStv 404) 24-hour TV news channel.

"We're constantly looking at enhancing and expanding our revenue sources and new markets and developing new products for our advertisers," the SABC's acting CEO, Tian Olivier, told parliament's portfolio committee on communications on Friday.

"One such product that we developed was the SABC News channel which a few weeks after it launched started to attract advertising revenue. In the current financial year  in the corporate plan we are targeting R25 million in advertising revenue on the SABC News channel," said Tian Olivier.

Marian Shinn, a member of parliament of the Democratic Alliance (DA) and sitting on parliament's portfolio committee on communications asked the SABC what the impact has been of SABC News as a 24-hour TV news channel to attract additional revenue and new audiences.

"The SABC's marketing research report that the SABC had done said that the majority of people watching SABC news didn't know that the SABC has a 24-hour TV news channel. It's strange that you went to a lot of effort to produce this thing, and no-one knows it there," said Marian Shinn.

The SABC executives didn't answer the question.

BREAKING. Pay more for your SABC TV licence - it's the right thing to do: SABC wants to raise TV licence fee again.

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The SABC wants to raise the price of the annual SABC TV licence fee that all South African TV households have to pay.

"TV licences are an important part of our revenue stream," Tian Olivier, the acting SABC CEO told parliament's portfolio committee on communications on Friday.

"In cash terms TV licences bring in about R1 billion a year. We will approach the department of communications to assist us with changes in the regulations and also a possible tariff increase to stay in line with the inflationary increase in the cost of collecting our licences," Tian Olivier said.

"To stand out in the clutter the SABC aims to maintain high quality content, distinct from commercial content, that is educational, editorially independent, universally accessible, culturally diverse, nation-building and resonates with our audiences," said Tian Olivier.

"The increases to our TV licence fees have always been inflation related to keep track of the cost of collecting the licence," Tian Olivier said in answer to a question from parliament. "It will probably go from the R265, six percent on that".

"The implementation of that would depend on approval by the minister of communications and we need about two months to implement it. The last increase that we had if I remember it correctly was in April, so we must probably work it out so that we don't have a period where some people are paying double increases".

"We must just synchronise when the previous SABC TV licence tariff increase was," Tian Olivier told parliament. It will not be more than inflation. We just ask for an inflation related increase".

Communications minister Faith Muthambi approves that acting SABC CEO Tian Olivier's acting contract be extended for months.

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South Africa's TV industry and TV licence payers need to get used to an acting CEO at the beleaguered SABC for months longer.

The new minister of communications Faith Muthambi revealed to parliament that she has approved the extension of the period that current acting SABC CEO Tian Olivier can or will serve in an acting CEO position by months.

Tian Olivier was appointed as acting SABC CEO after Lulama Mokhobo abruptly resigned in February this year and left before finishing her terrible term - the latest in a string of SABC CEO's who never work out their contracts.

The SABC has not yet appointed a new permanent SABC CEO, nor a permanent chief operating officer (COO), nor a permanent chief financial officer (CFO) - all are acting.

By law the minister of communications has to grant permission once one of these high-level group executive positions exceeds the period of three months (90 months) to have someone continue being in this position in an acting position.

"With regard to the SABC CEO the SABC requested for me to extend the acting of Tian Olivier with 90 days. I said to them I'm approving that on condition that the SABC gives me a timetable that they fill the position within the 90 days," Faith Muthambi told parliament's portfolio committee on communications on Friday.

BREAKING. Ongoing confusion about SABC archives apparently sold to MultiChoice; SABC says its struggling to digitise SABC archives.

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The SABC is looking at exploiting the South African public broadcaster's archives but the SABC is lagging behind with digitising its archives.

There's also ongoing confusion about the public broadcaster's deal with MultiChoice in which the SABC apparently sold the rights to the SABC archive to the satellite pay-TV platform for a delayed SABC entertainment TV channel to start on DStv.

In return for access to the public broadcaster's archives, MultiChoice will pay the SABC hundreds of millions of rands - apparently just over R300 for the delayed SABC's entertainment TV channel that is still to launch on DStv but which the SABC said will now happen before the end of this year.

"The acting chief operating officer [Hlaudi Motsoeneng] is constantly looking for additional sponsors and partners to look at how we can utilise our programmes and the selling of our programmes in other forms," Tian Olivier, the acting CEO of the SABC told parliament's portfolio committee on communications on Friday.

In terms of digital terrestrial television (DTT) and the SABC archive Tian Olivier told the committee that "the challenge we have is to convert the SABC archive into a digital format so that we move from tapes to files and also train our staff from working in a tape environment to working in a file environment".

Member of parliament and of the telecommunications and postal services portfolio committee, Marian Shinn of the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party asked the SABC and said: "The SABC is looking for customers of the SABC's archives. Well, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, last year you gave away the SABC archives to MultiChoice".

"They have the rights to your archives - not part of it, all of it. The contract says 'the archive'. So what on earth have you got left to sell to anybody else?"

"Last year I asked who is going to pay for the digitisation of the SABC archive material so that MultiChoice could use it to launch their 24-hour SABC entertainment channel."

"The answer came back that the money - just over R300 million for the entertainment side of the MultiChoice SABC deal would be used to digitise the material. Is that being done? Why has the SABC entertainment TV channel not gone live? It should have gone live in November 2013 and there's no sign of it".

Hlaudi Motsoeneng said "everybody should have access to the SABC archives, including MultiChoice and other broadcasters because we have 'must carry' [analogue broadcasting regulations]. All of us, all citizen of South Africa they must know what is happening".

"Your e.tv and so on, they all use archive of SABC, you see," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng. "Even international broadcasters. I don't understand when you talk about SABC selling archives to MultiChoice because that is information that is available for the citizen of South Africa".

BREAKING. SABC warns parliament: SABC will AGAIN have a qualified audit for its financial year results for 2013/2014.

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The SABC is warning parliament: The government and the public need to brace themselves because the beleaguered South African public broadcaster will have a qualified audit of their financial year results ... AGAIN.

What a healthy, clean and normal company gets is an unqualified audit. There is nothing to "qualify" and single out as problematic.

The SABC - battling disastrous management and poor governance issues, poor internal controls, a famously matricless acting chief operating officer which the Public Protector says "should never have been appointed at the SABC, as well as noncompliance and wasteful expenditure - received a qualified audit for the past three years in a row.

Last year the Auditor General (AG) slapped the SABC's 2012/2013 financial report with a "disclaimer" as well - the worst possible grading and the most adverse finding possible, indicating that the finances and financial controls are in such disarray to the point that it cannot form an opinion on the SABC's financial statement.

This was a further downgrading from the previous two years' financial reports which got "qualified audits".

Now the SABC is warning that yet another qualified audit is on its way for the SABC's financial report for 2013/2014.

The SABC's acting CEO Tian Olivier told parliament's portfolio committee on communications on Friday that "we are being audited at the moment".

"We have submitted our financial statements to the Auditor General. It is our own view that we have been able to clear a number of the qualification items".

"By all looks it looks like we will still have some qualifications," warned Tian Olivier.

"Another area that needs focus at the SABC is our supply chain management and the procurement of goods and services. it is also one of the areas that received a disclaimer in the audit and we need to put a lot more work in there and streamline and remove some of the bottlenecks in the procurement process," said Tian Olivier.

It means that the SABC cannot deliver what is called in the biz a "clean audit" - meaning the public broadcaster is unable to account for every cent and every single asset for yet another financial year that has passed.

SABC says paying for sports rights is putting the SABC under financial pressure, public broadcaster can't afford to pay R500 million every year.

Paying for sports rights is putting the SABC under financial pressure, the SABC told parliament's portfolio committee on communications.

Tian Olivier, the SABC's acting CEO told parliament that the SABC will eventually run out of money if the South African public broadcaster has to continually pay sports rights totally R300 million to R500 million per year.

"The sports item puts us under pressure. If we have to continuously fund sport with R500 million or R300 million of our own cash year after year, eventually we will run out. It's not a difficult calculation to make," Tian Olivier told parliament.

"The cost of sports rights are very high. Unfortunately the revenue that we derive from this sports coverage does not cover the cost, and we need to talk about the sustainability of how we pay for sports rights going forward in the future," said Tian Olivier.

"If we look at all the sports rights that we have to take because it's mandated items and the production cost of those rights, sport will require R930 million in the financial year [2014/2015]".

"We are able to provide in revenue terms R418 million or half of that amount. In sport we have a shortfall of R500 million," said Tian Olivier.

"Given the cash flow position fo the SABC at the moment we can sustain sport for a year but not for longer than that. The acting chief operating officer [Hlaudi Motsoeneng] is working on looking for sponsors for sport so that he can bring back that R500 million in sport so that we can spend it again".

"We either need to find commercial funding for sport or we need to relook the regulations that we do not have this huge burden or mandate on us, or if possible, funding from the national treasury," said Tian Olivier.

"I've given an analysis to show how the cost of sports rights have increased before and after the Icasa regulations came into effect. The total mandated sports for the five years before the Icasa regulations came into effect those sport items we had to show cost us R670 million in total".

"The five years after the regulations came into effect, the same five items cost us R1,3 billion - an increase of 49% in the rights fees," said Tian Olivier.

"The cost of sport and the [planned] SABC Sport channel" is a budget risk for the SABC, said Tian Olivier.

SABC and Television Mozambique sign an agreement to work closer together on training of staff and management.

The South African public broadcaster(SABC) and Television Mozambique (TVM) have signed an agreement to work closer together, specifically in the areas of staff training, management training as well as election broadcast coverage.

The SABC and TVM will share resources as well as content under the new agreement.

"We are assisting each other with the transition to digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcasting which is happening for all the countries and also the exchange of production of content and mutual interest," says Tian Olivier, the SABC's acting chief executive officer (CEO).

BREAKING. SABC's matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng warned he will be 'thrown out like a used condom' by president Jacob Zuma.

Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) political party warned the SABC's famously matricless acting chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng today that he will be "thrown out like a used condom" by South African president Jacob Zuma once he has outlived his usefulness.

The EFF marched to the South African public broadcaster's Auckland Park headquarters today with shouts of "voetsek" and handed over a memorandum of grievances to the matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng and the SABC's acting chief executive officer (CEO) Tian Olivier.

"I must warn you that he is going to throw you out like a used condom," Julius Malema told Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"You and the SABC undermine the intelligence of our people," Julius Malema told Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"I must warn you. I must warn you that Zuma is going to flush you like used toilet paper. You must ask me," Julius Malema told Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"Ask [Zwelinzima] Vavi and [Fikile] Mbalula. When it was time to dump us he did not think twice".

"If you don't change your conduct, we will come here, put a truck outside and celebrate your dumping," said Julius Malema. "I was once in the same position, supporting and protecting Zuma. I was like you, I used to protect him".

Thousands of EFF supporters held a public protest to the SABC following the banning of an EFF political party TV commercial by the SABC, a decision shockingly upheld on Friday evening by South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

In February the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela - now on the latest list of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people in the world but not yet congratulated by South Africa's ruling ANC government - released a damning report on corruption and maladministration at the SABC.

The Public Protector found that Hlaudi Motsoeneng "should never have been appointed at the SABC", and implicated him in maladministration, abuse of power, and misconduct like being directly involved in the firing of all the people who testified against him in a disciplinary hearing, as well as astronomical salary hikes for himself.

The SABC board under chairperson Ellen Zandile Tshabalala who supports Jacob Zuma, and SABC top management has done nothing since the release of the scathing report in which Hlaudi Motsoeneng in a recorded interview with the Public Protector admitted that he lied about having matric, and admitted that he "made up symbols" for a fake matric certificate he knew he couldn't produce.

________

South African TV news covered today's EFF protest march to the SABC. Everyone's coverage contained mistakes.

■ The eNCA (DStv 403) anchor Jeremy Maggs on Tuesday erroneously kept referring to Hlaudi Motsoeneng as "the SABC's CEO".

The eNCA reporter Lenyaro Sello likewise also erroneously kept referring to Hlaudi Motsoeneng as "SABC CEO Hlaudi Motsoeneng" in the taped piece played several times (at 21:05 it was fixed). The eNCA story included audio and video of Julius Malema's criticism of and warning to Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

By 21:05 eNCA had fixed the autocue link as well as in the taped story, now correctly referring to Hlaudi Motsoeneng as the SABC's "acting COO".


■ The SABC (DStv 404) covered today's EFF protest march to the SABC.

The SABC's reporter Chriselda Lewis covered the story for the SABC and channels like SABC News (DStv 404). The SABC spelled their own acting CEO, Tian Olivier's name wrong in English language bulletins and on SABC News as "Tiaan Olivier" in the on-screen bottom third identifier.

Chriselda Lewis' story contained nothing - no mention, and no audio or video clip - of Julius Malema's warning to and criticism of the SABC itself and Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

In the SABC's Afrikaans news bulletin "Tian Olivier" was spelled correctly. The Afrikaans news bulletin however likewise contained no mention or inclusion - neither audio nor video - of Julius Malema's warning to and criticism of Hlaudi Motsoeneng, although it was slightly more balanced and a better edited story for broadcast.

SABC fires Gugu Duda as acting chief financial officer - replaced with James Aguma; Tian Olivier is the new acting CEO as stop-gap measure.

The spate of dismissals and firings of top executives seen the past half a decade at the SABC continues as a running theme at the South African public broadcaster which summarily fired its acting chief financial officer Gugu Duda and replaced her with James Aguma.

After Lulama Mokhobo dumped the SABC as CEO in February after finishing just two years of her five year contract and after the SABC couldn't say who the new acting CEO is since March, Tian Olivier (pictured) is now the acting CEO as a stop-gap measure at the broadcaster.

Since 2008 the SABC's senior management has been in a constant state of unstable flux, with senior executives constantly being hired and fired at top level, including resignations, dismissals, draw-out labour court disputes and multi-million rand payouts by the SABC due to unfair dismissals, golden handshakes and to simply get rid of former executives after relationships turned acrimonious.

A new year at the SABC means new executives and new executives in acting positions.

The SABC has not yet advertised the position of chief financial officer for a permanent replacement (with the famously matricless Hlaudli Motsoeneng in the position) - a position which has not been filled by the SABC since 2006 and for the past seven years.

However James Aguma now assumes the position of acting CFO. He is an Ugandan chartered accountant.

Gugu Duda, a chartered accountant, has been dismissed and sent packing on Wednesday. She was suspended in September 2012 at the SABC in relation to procurement and financial irregularities.

Tian Olivier has himself been the acting chief financial officer at the SABC before. James Aguma joined the SABC in 2013 as the general manager for strategy and governance in Hlaudi Motsoeneng's office.

Tian Olivier has also been the head of audience services at the SABC. "It is imperative that at this stage we provide support to the two acting executives who have just been appointed," says Ellen Tshabala, the SABC board chairperson in a statement. 

SABC to advertise the position of chief operating officer (COO), currently held by the matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng, on Sunday.

The SABC's position for chief operating officer (COO) currently filled by Hlaudi Motsoeneng will be advertised on Sunday while the disciplinary hearing for the SABC's suspended chief financial officer Gugu Duda will be taking place later this month.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng has been appointed in the position as chief operating officer in a temporary acting capacity although he doesn't have matric and never passed Grade 12. The disciplinary hearing for the SABC's suspended chief financial officer Gugu Duda will be taking place in February with five days set aside for the hearing.

ALSO READ: "Now is the time for SABC to work very hard to double our efforts," says acting COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

At a hastily-arranged press conference on Friday afternoon at the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters, the SABC's deputy chairperson Thami Ka Plaatjie said that the position of chief operating officer (COO) will be advertised on Sunday after a drawn-out legal battle with the former SABC executive Mvuzo Mbebe had now been settled.

Mvuzo Mbebe took the SABC board to court and applied for an interdict at the South Gauteng High Court after he was recommended for the position of chief operating officer in July 2007 by the then SABC chairperson Eddie Funde, but never got the job.

Meanwhile Gugu Duda's disciplinary hearing will be taking place over the course of a whole week in February, she was immediately suspended in September 2012 because of alleged irregular procurement actions allegedly relating to sponsorship deals.

Tian Olivier is currently the acting chief financial officer of the SABC.

Thami Ka Plaatjie said at the press conference that the SABC which got close to the cliff of financial collapse in 2009 and was granted a government bailout of R1,47 billion in the form of a government guaranteed loan from Nedbank, is not in a sound financial position yet.

Thami Ka Plaatjie said that the SABC failed to meet all of the conditions of the government guarantee in exchange for the billion rand bailout.

"We must not fool ourselves. This doesn't mean that we've met all the conditions of the government guarantee," said Thami Ka Plaatjie.

The SABC announced that it had payed back another R416 million of the government bailout of R1,47 billion the struggling broadcaster received in 2009. The SABC now still owes R230 million on the government guaranteed loan to Nedbank.