Possible criminal charges after parliament reports finds Faith Muthambi, James Aguma, Ben Ngubane, Mbulaheni Maguvhe allegedly lied in SABC inquiry.

Possible criminal charges could be coming for minister Faith Muthambi, James Aguma, Ben Ngubane, Mbulaheni Maguvhe and former SABC company secretary Theresa Geldenhuys who allegedly lied during the SABC inquiry by parlement.

A parliamentary report has found that these 5 witnesses in parliament's SABC inquiry into maladministration, corruption, and mismanagement at the troubled South African Broadcasting Corporation may have deliberately misled the South African parliament's ad hoc committee that investigated the SABC rot.

The National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete finally quietly tabled the report that she has kept hidden for months amidst calls for it to be made public who parliament found may have lied during the inquiry.

Faith Muthambi, then the minister of communications - now the public service and administration minister - could face a charge of contempt and abuse of parliamentary privilege that is punishable by a fine or a prison term not exceeding 12 months or both.

The same goes for the other 4 with the controversial Ben Ngubane and Mbulaheni Maguvhe who served as former SABC board members and James Aguma who quit as acting SABC CEO.

The report by parliament's legal services division found that Faith Muthambi's testimony regarding the appointment of the controversial and now fired executive Hlaudi Motsoeneng "does not align with the content of minutes of the SABC board meetings".

"To this end the testimony proffered by the then-minister of communications could be seen as an attempt to misled the enquiry."

The report found that the controversial Mbulaheni Maguvhe likely misled parliament when he claimed ignorance of the shocking labour dispute involving the so-called "SABC8" SABC News journalists who were fired after they voiced concern over the Hlaudi Motsoeneng's abruptly introduced SABC News censorship policy.

The parliamentary report found that the controversial Ben Ngubane misled parliament in his testimony on the massive amounts the SABC had been paying to produce The New Age Breakfast Briefings broadcast on SABC2's Morning Live.

"The testimony offered by Ben Ngubane could be seen as an attempt to mislead the inquiry and that false information was presented to the inquiry," parliament's report states.

The parliamentary report found that the controversial and now gone James Aguma might have provided the inquiry with an email which "purports to lack authenticity as being that generated by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC)."

"In order to establish this fact conclusively, further investigation needs to be undertaken to ascertain whether the email was generated by the CIPC".

The parliamentary report found that Theresa Geldenhuys refused to provide parliament's ad hoc committee with requested documents, citing that they were "commercially sensitive" - only for the documents to be provided later, and being proven to not be commercially sensitive. 

Theresa Geldenhuys also failed "to inform the committee that she was no longer the company secretary which could be considered as an attempt to mislead the inquiry".

Parliament's legal services division recommended that the 5 people be investigated for misleading parliament.

In a statement, Phumzile van Damme, a member of parliament (MP) of the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party, says that "now that the speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete has finally tabled the report from parliament's legal services unit identifying those who misled or lied to the SABC ad hoc committee, she must ensure that criminal charges are laid against them."

"The recommendation in the report of the ad hoc committee on the SABC inquiry was that parliament itself lay charges against the individuals who misled the committee."

"Although the DA welcomes the tabling of this report, the reality is that it is almost 12 weeks overdue and has been sitting on the speaker's desk since 5 June."

Parliament's acting secretary Penelope Tyawa joins speaker Baleka Mbete in trying to keep secret the report that says who lied during parliament's special SABC Inquiry.

The acting secretary of South Africa's parliament, Penelope Tyawa, has now apparently joined parliament's speaker, Baleka Mbete, with both who are conspiring to keep the South African public uninformed and the country's TV industry in the dark, refusing to release a report publicly stating which people who testified in parliament in December 2016 lied to the SABC Inquiry.

After a thorough, special ad hoc committee inquiry in December 2016 and January 2017 into maladministration, corruption and mismanagement at the beleaguered SABC and the dealings of the mafia-like former SABC board, parliament's legal services unit handed a report to speaker Baleka Mbete, naming the witnesses who gave contradictory and misleading evidence during the SABC inquiry.

So far Baleka Mbete has refused to make this report public with information that South African citizens, the TV industry and TV viewers who are forced to pay SABC TV licence fees to a public broadcaster, have a right to know in an open democracy.

Despite an application made on 20 June by the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party's deputy whip, Mike Waters who served on the ad hoc committee, in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to get access to this report, Penelope Tyawa, has now also refused.

"The report was one of the key recommendations of the SABC inquiry report. Significantly, it was to be completed within 60 days with the aim of criminal charges being laid," says Mike Waters, in a statement.

On Wednesday Penelope Tyawa told Mike Waters that the report "would be made available by the end of August or soon thereafter".

Mike Waters says Penelope Tyawa "has joined the Speaker of the National Assembly in trying to keep the report into those who lied during the SABC inquiry from public scrutiny".

"This reasoning is laughable as parliament's legal services unit completed the report and submitted it to parliament on 5 June 2017 through its representative, the National Assembly speaker.

"It is now precisely the representative of parliament, Baleka Mbete, who is protecting the persons implicated in the report by refusing to table it, which she is required to do 'without delay' ".

In a statement from South Africa's parliament on late Thursday, parliament said that "the speaker is in no position to disclose the names of the affected individuals publicly before a committee process has begun".

"Any insinuation that the speaker seeks to quash a parliamentary probe into these allegations is erroneous and without basis."

People who likely lied during the SABC Inquiry include:

the failed former minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, recently shunted to another ministry;
the disgraced former SABC chairperson Ellen Tshabalala who also lied about tertiary qualifications she doesn't have;
the confused and stubborn former SABC chairperson Mbulaheni Maguvhe who was staunch Hlaudi Motsoeneng supporter;
and the patriarchal former SABC chairperson Ben Ngubane who of course doesn't fly economy.

The SABC's latest plan to make its fruitless and wasteful expenditure look less: 'TV shows bought and not shown in time shouldn't be labelled as wasteful'.

The SABC's latest plan to help lessen the billions of rand lost in fruitless and wasteful expenditure is to "reclassify" the TV content that it had bought and wasted because it didn't broadcast it in time, as not being wasteful.

The beleaguered and loss-making SABC, more than any other South African broadcaster like e.tv and M-Net, ends up buying food for the TV fridge that just sits there, rots and ends up as waste that must be thrown away, not scheduled and consumed in time.

The SABC annually racks up massive content losses in this area on its balance sheet, wasting SABC TV licence payers' money by buying programming it doesn't show before the broadcasting licensing right windows expires.

This happens because the SABC wastes money by buying programming that is inappropriate for the audience and channel demographics, because there’s no space on the SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 schedules – or because the content acquisitions hub and schedulers don't make sure that the TV that's bought is broadcast before the "use by" date.

The SABC keeps failing to properly assess and align the public broadcaster's playout needs in terms of scheduled number of hours with what it ends up buying. The written-off glut of TV programming bought and paid for but that that ends up never being shown, is annually classified as part of fruitless and wasteful expenditure – the same as with all broadcasters.

Now the SABC wants to "reclassify" some of this wasted, bought TV content through no longer seeing it as "fruitless and wasteful".

'They throw in other titles that you don't need'

Although all TV broadcasters – public television services and pay-TV operators – all operate under the same playbook, the SABC's acting CEO, James Aguma now wants to shift the blame for fruitless and wasteful expenditure in terms of some programming costs to content distributors and content sellers.

James Aguma, now blaming TV content distributors and content sellers, is taking the same page as the disgraced former SABC chairperson dr Ben Ngubane, who also previously told parliament the SABC can't really be held responsible for all of the TV content it acquires and fails to show in time.

James Aguma told parliament's portfolio committee on communications this week that the SABC is busy reworking how the TV content that the public broadcaster buys and ends up wasting – marked as fruitless and wasteful expenditure on its balance sheet – is seen.

James Aguma, an accountant and auditor from Uganda, told parliament that "a lot of fruitless and wasteful expenditure at the SABC arises from two sources. One is writing off content. You go and buy content, lets say 8 titles."

"But your schedule only allows you to broadcast 3 or 4 programmes – and you actually only want four, but they sell you a package. The parlance in broadcasting is you buy the dog and fleas".

"So we're saying if we do not have space to broadcast that because we only have 3 channels, then inevitably you'll find at year-end you have to write-off that. Because the rights that you have are time-based."

"They [international content distributors] are giving you rights to broadcast something. But you know that you only want four titles. Then they throw in other titles that you don't need. And it's take it or leave it unfortunately in the broadcasting industry."

"So you’ll see that we're continuously showing that as fruitless and wasteful expenditure," said James Aguma.

"But we're having a debate at a principal level whether it strictly meets the definition of fruitless and wasteful. Because it an amount that could have been avoided if reasonable steps were put in place."

Take cows and donkeys

"If somebody says: 'I want 4 cows', and he says 'No, take 3 donkeys, buy it as a package' and you say 'No, I want the 4' and he says 'If you want the cows, take the donkeys' then I don't think those 3 strictly meet the definition of fruitless and wasteful," James Aguma told parliament.

"You may not have gotten value, but what could you have done to avoid in that industry to avoid the buying of the dog and fleas so to speak? So we’re going to adjust that note also in conjunction with the Auditor-General (AG)."

Fanny by Gaslight

While the SABC's James Aguma is correct that TV content acquisitions are sometimes "bundled" – premium programme buys come attached with lower-tiered series and movies, other broadcasters worldwide, as well as e.tv and M-Net in South Africa, are much better at managing, scheduling and working away the flotsam with the fantastic so that it doesn't end up as a liability and content write-off.

For every How I Met Your Mother and Anaconda: Hunt for the Blood Orchid on e.tv that the red letter free-to-air broadcaster actually wanted, there's a Fanny by Gaslight scheduled and burnt off in a near-midnight slot.

It's also not just international content. The SABC also runs rougshod over local content that equally contributes to fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

In December the SABC for instance abruptly ordered an end to the contract of the weekday local prime time drama series High Rollers on SABC3, produced by Rous House Productions.

With months left on the signed contract of the recently ordered third season, the SABC suddenly wanted High Rollers on SABC3 shut down and off the air, citing "changing programming needs".

With the remainder of the contract that must be paid out whether the public broadcaster has anything to show for it or not, the SABC is wasting and essentially paying money to a production company to not deliver local content – episodes that it ordered and wanted just months ago.

As far back as 2013 dr Ben Ngubane warned that content purchasing decisions at the SABC will no longer be made by one executive.

In the past the SABC several times have sent people not skilled or versed in international programming acquisition – and flying business class – to foreign film festivals and content markets where they signed deals and picked up programming wholly unsuitable for the SABC.

After its first news channel failure, the SABC wanted to turn SABC3 into its new TV news channel not knowing it couldn't, reveals former chairperson dr Ben Ngubane.

After the expensive flop and abrupt shuttering of its struggling first TV news channel, SABC News International, the SABC set its sights on SABC3, wanting to turn its struggling and smallest terrestrial TV channel into its new news channel - unaware that it's not allowed to do so because SABC3 has a commercial TV licence.

The former SABC board chairperson, dr Ben Ngubane, now the chairperson of Eskom, revealed to parliament on Friday in the ongoing inquiry into the beleaguered state of affairs at the South African public broadcaster, that after the failure of SABC News International, the SABC wanted to turn SABC3 into its new news channel.

Instead of turning SABC3 into its new news channel, the SABC eventually signed the now controversial MultiChoice deal to supply a new stand-alone TV news channel to DStv, SABC News (DStv 404).

Together with the old rerun channel SABC Encore (DStv 156), the pay-TV operator paid the SABC hundreds of millions of rand for the two SABC packaged channels to be carried on DStv, with exclusive access to the old library titles from the SABC archives shows on SABC Encore.

SABC News International was started in 2007 by the SABC's former head of news, dr Snuki Zikalala at a cost of more than R85 million but abruptly shut down three years later at the end of March 2010.

The massive cash drain of SABC News International - to the tune of over R80 million per year - on the SABC's already precarious operating budget was one of the big crippling factors that brought the SABC to the brink of financial collapse in 2009.

But the SABC was absolutely adamant to have a TV news channel and next looked to transform one of its existing three TV channels in its second attempt to create one: SABC3.

SABC3 is however the SABC's only commercial TV channel, with SABC1 and SABC2 licensed as its public broadcast service (PBS) channels.


'We couldn't use SABC3'
In parliament's special ad hoc committee investigating the SABC, dr Ben Ngubane revealed that the SABC's previous head of news who was also acting SABC CEO, Phil Molefe "went to India to look for partners to start the 24-hour TV news channel".

"Things get started. Phil Molefe wanted the 24-hour news channel, but to use SABC3 as the 24-hour news channel. When he came back, after a long process, we found that in fact we couldn't use SABC3 because it's a commercial TV station in terms of its licence".

Dr Ben Ngubane said "I did not bring the Guptas to SABC".

"I was aware that Phil Molefe had gone to India to meet a broadcasting company. He came back and sought a mission to convert SABC3 into 24-hour news. And we declined that."

Dr Ben Ngubane said Phil Molefe "also went to London on the same quest to turn SABC3 into 24-hour news".

SABC News (DStv 404) was eventually launched in August 2013 on DStv promising "multilingual programming" delivered "to audiences in all 11 South African official languages". In April 2015 the SABC removed all bulletins in other languages and made SABC News an English TV news channel.

SABC IN CHAOS & CRISIS: 6 FURTHER SABC BOARD RESIGNATIONS ROCK BROADCASTER IN MELTDOWN.

The SABC in chaos & crisis: 6 further SABC board members have resigned as the struggling public broadcaster is continuing the biggest public meltdown in top executive ranks the South African Broadcasting Corporation has ever seen.

SABC board members Lumko Mtide, John Danana, Cedric Gina, Desmond Golding, Adv. Cawe Mahlati and Noluthando Gosa has now all quit and sent resignation letters and are following the SABC chairperson dr.Ben Ngubane and deputy chairperson Thami Ka Plaatjie out the door.

"President Jacob Zuma has received six more letters of resignation from members of the South African Broadcasting Corporation," says the office of the presidency in a just-issued statement.

"The president has accepted their resignations."

The office of the presidency says "the president has requested the minister of communications, Dina Pule, to liaise with the national assembly regarding the process to fill the vacancies left by the members who have resigned."

The SABC has now been truly plunged into the biggest executive and management chaos and crisis the broadcaster has ever experienced.

The SABC board - what's left of it can't function or meet, there is no clarity on whether the matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng is or isn't still the acting chief operating officer (COO) - his removal by the SABC of which instigated the crisis and plunged the broadcaster into the meltdown it's experiencing.

With six of the nine last remaining SABC board members now also gone, only three SABC board members are left. The SABC is now functioning without any governing body.

SABC IN CHAOS & CRISIS: 'The decision stands' says SABC board about Hlaudi Motsoeneng's removal; minister says he must remain.

The SABC in chaos & crisis: The biggest crisis the embattled and directionless South African Broadcasting Corporation has ever faced continues - without any leadership and instead with more added drama and controversy heaped as further fuel onto the raging fire which is the SABC's top management in meltdown.

Utter chaos and a total corporate governance collapse is reigning at the public broadcaster with the minister of communications, Dina Pule, who made further shocking remarks to add to the confusion and scandal at the broadcaster shen she told SABC radio in an interview that the matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng who was removed as acting chief operating officer (COO) will remain in the  position.

Shortly after her remarks, the SABC board fought back with the response that "the decision to remove Hlaudi Motsoeneng stands".

Complete confusion and massive uncertainty reigns at Africa's last remaining so-called "public broadcaster" as state control is clearly tightening over the SABC where over the past two years, the long-suspected but never overt, government control became sharply evident in the SABC's management and broadcasting decisions.

The SABC is mired in a vicious and very public top level power battle and tug-of-war. The hugest crises the SABC ever faced was triggered 3 weeks ago when the SABC board, through a consensus decision removed the matricless enfant terrible Hlaudi Motsoeneng from his position of acting chief operating officer (COO). He was replaced by Mike Siluma.

Three days later Mike Siluma resigned. Other SABC board members - such as SABC chairperson dr. Ben Ngubane and deputy chairperson Thami ka Plaatjie - were then involved in unilaterally "reinstating" Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

The SABC board publicly rebuked dr Ben Ngubane who has been described as "autocratic" and "patriarcal" in his leadership style and tenure and said dr. Ben Ngubane and Thami Ka Plaatjie don't have the authority to make such a unilateral decision.

This past Sunday dr. Ben Ngubane and deputy chairperson Thami Ka Plaatjie both quit.

Now Dina Pule, herself mired in scandals, told SABC radio that the matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng remains in the position of acting COO at the SABC because the SABC board was not properly constituted when it met.

The SABC board shot back and said the decision to terminate the matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng as acting COO "stands".

"The board meeting [on 25 February] was properly constituted and the decision to release Hlaudi Motsoeneng from acting chief operating officer stands," says the SABC board.

Why Dina Pule as a state minister is interfering with the SABC board's decisions is not clear, nor why she had a long meeting with dr. Ben Ngubane and Thami Ka Plaatjie and asked them to reconsider not quitting.

The SABC is a public broadcaster and not a state broadcaster and therefore answers to parliament and falls under the oversight of parliament's portfolio committee of communications - not the department of communications or a government department.

The SABC board is now unable to meet because it no longer has the necessary number of members following the resignation of dr. Ben Ngubane and Thami Ka Plaatjie.

SABC IN CHAOS & CRISIS: 'SABC is a national embarrassment, run like a spaza shop, stranded in a sea of incompetence and sinking.'

The SABC in chaos & crisis: Reaction is piling in on the biggest headline-making story the crises and scandal riddled SABC has ever experienced in the South African public broadcaster's history, as massive public infighting and a vicious tug-of-war has engulfed the beleaguered institution where's its top executive and management is fighting an all-out war.

The destructive, dysfunctional and destabilising SABC board is in freefall after it terminated his tenure and removed the matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng as acting chief operating officer (COO).

That was followed by SABC board chairperson dr. Ben Ngubane and deputy Thami Ka Plaatjie "reinstating" Hlaudi Motsoeneng; and then both dr. Ben Ngubane and Thami Ka Plaatjie quitting over the weekend after the SABC board publicly told them they don't have the authority to "reinstate" Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

South Africa's TV industry is transfixed by the biggest scandal at the SABC as the latest farce continues to grow even bigger.


IFP in a press statement TODAY:
"As South Africans we are required by law to pay TV licences and we therefore have the right to challenge and question the SABC. Why should South Africans be required to pay a public broadcaster that is a national embarrassment, is run like a spaza shop, stranded in a sea of incompetence, while the ship is sinking?"

"The latest SABC scandal playing itself out in the public arena - the chief operating officer crisis, the new rift in the SABC board coupled with allegations that communications minister Dina Pule has motivated for the re-instatement of disgraced COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng - has only served to bolster the SABC's nickname "Faulty Towers" by reaffirming that it has not managed to rid itself of the never-ending cycle of incompetence and mismanagement at the highest levels."

"This is only the latest public example of the malaise at the SABC. Despite the removal of the entire SABC board a few years ago, sadly, new SABC board members have not been able to stem the crisis."

"There can be no doubt that the ongoing process of the politicization of the public broadcaster lies at the very heart of the SABC's protracted crisis."


SOS Coalition in a press statement TODAY:
"Both the SABC chairperson and the SABC deputy chairperson have resigned following the quarrel over the position of the COO at the SABC. This places both governance and management of the corporation in crisis."

"The SOS Coalition members are in agreement that an emergency parliamentary hearing is essential. Parliament needs to investigate the SABC board, ministerial interference, the Special Investigations Unit report, the SABC management and the lacuna in the Broadcasting Act."


Congress of the People's (COPE) spokesperson Juli Killian TODAY:
"Dr. Ben Ngubane and Thami Ka Plaatjie's legacy of usurping executive powers and interfering in the corporations'd daily running will haunt the broadcaster.

Dr. Ben Ngubane would be remembered for his "autocratic style of leadership" and his failure to turn the SABC around and root out corruption and insider trading. The minister responsible should take her cue from the duo and immediately resign from office, failing which the president should dismiss Dina Pule without further delay."


Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson Marian Shinn TODAY:
"President Jacob Zuma must accept the resignations and allow them to leave as soon as possible. Under dr. Ben Ngubane's leadership a number of appropriately experienced people, committed to restoring the SABC to a credible, financially stable public broadcaster serving all South Africans, resigned from the board in frustration because of his dictatorial style and his inability or unwillingness to prevent political interference in the broadcaster's editorial content."

"His unwavering support for Hlaudi Motsoeneng as acting COO – who was both unqualified and unsuitable for the job – further divided the operations of the corporation, and eroded its reputation.

Turning the SABC around should be the key priority. I trust that the rest of the board will remain for stability's stake and that a chairperson, who is politically neutral and with solid credentials in corporate governance, can be found to take the SABC forward."


Dina Pule, the minister of communications' spokesperson Sipho Qoza TODAY:
"Dina Pule has been quite concerned about the goings-on at the board at the SABC.


Mac Maharaj, presidency spokesperson TODAY:
"The matter is receiving the attention of the president. He is aware of the urgency and the nature of the problem and he will be giving it the attention it requires."

BREAKING. Dr Ben Ngubane, Thami ka Plaatjie quit as SABC chairperson and deputy chairperson of SABC board.

Dr. Ben Ngubane, the controversial chairperson of the SABC and the SABC board has quit as well as Thami Ka Plaatjie, the deputy chairperson of the SABC board who also quit.

Both dr Ben Ngubane and Thami ka Plaatjie plunged the beleaguered South African public broadcaster into its biggest top executive and top management crisis ever when they unilaterally tried to "reappoint" the matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng as the acting chief operating officer (COO) at the SABC three days after the rest of the SABC board removed Hlaudi Motsoeneng from the position.

The resignation of dr. Ben Ngubane as well as the resignation of Thami Ka Plaatjie over the weekend comes amidst unbearable stress and conflict on SABC board level, where "corporate governance has disintegrated completely," according to statements made last week by parliament.

Parliament's portfolio committee on communications, the body tasked with oversight of the SABC last week said that "anarchy" was reigning at the highest level at the SABC and that "Auckland Park was on fire".

Dr. Ben Ngubane quitting the SABC, followed by the resignation letter of Thami Ka Plaatjie follows the severly destructive infighting at the highest executive and management levels of the beleaguered SABC which the past few years remained mired in scandal, corruption, allegations of scandal and the one leaderless management blunder after another.

Parliament's portfolio committee on communications has been asked by several political parties as well as civil society public pressure groups such as the SOS Coalition, a broad-based public interest group supporting public broadcasting, to have an emergency meeting with and about the SABC in the coming week to save the struggling broadcaster where the leadership structure is disintegrating from the very top.

Now, with both dr. Ben Ngubane and Thami Ka Plaatjie gone, the SOS Coalition calls the situation at the SABC "desperate".

The SABC didn't immediately respond to a media enquiry made on Sunday night.

BREAKING. Anarchy at the SABC! 'Corporate governance at SABC has disintegrated completely,' says parliamentary committee.

Eric Kholwane, chairperson of parliament's portfolio committee on communications, the committee tasked with oversight of the SABC, describes the latest destructive infighting at the highest executive levels of the beleaguered SABC constantly mired in scandal, as anarchy at the SABC.

Eric Kholwane says that corporate governance at the South African public broadcaster has almost disintegrated completely.

It follows after the latest bitter public and acrimonious top management clash between the SABC board and its chairman dr. Ben Ngubane over the matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

The SABC is still the biggest shameless show circus in town.

The latest shocking and very public bitter squabble is showing that those supposed to serve at the highest management and oversight positions at the beleaguered SABC are incompetent or deliberately not doing the right thing.

They're disgustingly delusional, self-servingly autocratic and simply not qualified, fit for office or suitably skilled and trained in actual broadcasting fundamentals (let alone management knowledge) to hold those positions.

Of actual leadership, vision, integrity and applied broadcasting principles at the SABC there is very little evident.

"We have a problem in that one or two people here think they are the executive and can do almost what they like," says Eric Kholwane.

The portfolio committee on communications is co-incidentally meeting today again, after the SABC board who was supposed to report back to parliament last week, simply cancelled on the committee, saying that it wasn't ready and that documents to be presented on matter such as investigations into allegations of fraud and corruption at the SABC was not ready.

Political parties are now calling for the sacking of dr. Ben Ngubane as well as the entire SABC board.

BREAKING. Calls for the sacking of dr. Ben Ngubane as SABC chairperson following the latest outrageous SABC spectacle.

Political parties are calling for the SABC chairperson dr. Ben Ngubane to be sacked following the latest public management embarrassment at the public broadcaster which saw dr. Ben Ngubane apparently overstepping his rights in a unilateral decision to bring back and reinstate the matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng as acting chief operating officer (COO) three days after being removed, although he doesn't have the right to do so.

The SABC and the beleaguered South African public broadcaster is once again the focus of an ongoing, upper echelon infighting spectacle.

It follows after the SABC board met last Tuesday and removed Hlaudi Motsoeneng as acting COOat a meeting in Cape Town where dr. Ben Ngubane was not present. Mike Siluma was appointed as the new acting COO of the SABC. Mike Siluma promptly quit on Friday.

Dr. Ben Ngubane then went ahead and apparently reinstated Hlaudi Motsoeneng as the acting COO together with the SABC board deputy chairperson Thami ka Plaatjie. The "reinstatement" happened through "withdrawing" the letter to be send to the minister of communications informing her of the removal of Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

The SABC board then, in a strong and stern statement issued late yesterday filled with scorn aimed squarely at dr. Ben Ngubane that "neither the chairman nor the deputy chairman nor both have the power or authority to unilaterally change a board resolution".

Now both the DA and Cope political parties are calling for dr. Ben Ngubane to be booted out of the SABC.

"Dr. Ben Ngubane must be removed from office in the interests of stability at the public broadcaster," says the Democratic Alliance in a statement. "This is a shambolic state of affairs that does no credit to the board or the SABC."

Congress of the People party also says dr. Ben Ngubane must be removed. "Dr. Ben Ngubane has become a law unto himself and acts like an executive chairperson - if he is unwilling to resign, he should be removed."

Cope will be asking parliament's portfolio committee on communications (which is tasked with the oversight role of the SABC) for the removal of dr. Ben Ngubane from his post and the appointment of a new chairperson for the SABC board.

BREAKING. Massive executive turmoil at highest SABC level as infighting between SABC board and its chairperson is blatantly laid bare.

As shockwaves emanate about the utter dysfunction and leadership vacuum at the highest management and executive levels of the battered South African public broadcaster, the vicious infighting happening at top level behind the scenes at the beleaguered SABC is becoming painfully clear for everyone to see.

The SABC just issued another press release in which the SABC board is openly contradicting, repudiating and publicly shaming the insistence of the SABC board chairperson dr. Ben Ngubane that the removed acting chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng is again the acting COO.

Follow this quick developing story which has now become the SABC's biggest, highest level crisis circus and its biggest public embarrassement yet:

- The SABC board on Tuesday last week met to remove Hlaudi Motsoeneng as acting COO and appointed Mike Siluma as the new acting COO.
-  Mike Siluma then suddenly resigned on Friday.
-  Dr. Ben Ngubane then reappointed Hlaudi Motsoeneng who returned to the position of acting COO a mere three days after he was removed from the position.

Now the SABC issued a press statement this afternoon, from the SABC board, blatantly chastising the SABC's chairperson dr. Ben Ngubane and the SABC board deputy chairman Thami ka Plaatjie.

The SABC says in the statement that Hlaudi Motsoeneng is definitely not back as acting COO, and makes it painfully clear in a public statement (which is so embarrassing since it damages the SABC itself as it damages whatever credibility dr. Ben Ngubane has left as chairperson).

The SABC says that it "is regrettable as neither the chairman nor the deputy chairman nor both have the power or authority to unilaterally change a board resolution".

The new and latest statement from the SABC, issued by the SABC board, makes it painfully obvious that there is a massive fracturous relationship between the SABC board and the SABC board chairperson.

It show either a lack of good governance, in-fighting, or both within the highest ranks at the SABC.

Dr. Ben Ngubane did not attend the meeting on Tuesday where it was decided to remove Hlaudi Motsoeneng as acting COO. Dr. Ben Ngubane meanwhile claims that he didn't know about the decision.

Yet the SABC press statement - chillingly - goes to great length to directly spell out how only the SABC board has the power to make decisions and not dr. Ben Ngubane, and goes into eye-popping detail insofar as it spells out why dr. Ben Ngubane would have known what was going on because he was informed.

"It is critical to note that, since then, the SABC board has not met to rescind this resolution [to remove Hlaudi Motsoeneng]."

"It cannot be then that the SABC board resolution to relieve the former acting COO of his acting duties has been rescinded. The so-called 'withdrawal' of letters signed by the deputy chairman Thami ka Plaatjie (on behalf of the SABC board) does not have any effect on the SABC board resolution taken at a properly convened SABC board meeting. The resolution stands until rescinded by another properly constituted SABC board meeting."


What this all means:
The SABC board met last Tuesday in Cape Town (without dr. Ben Ngubane, but who the SABC board says knew the decision to remove Hlaudi Motsoeneng was coming because the discussion was carried over from a previous meeting).

Mike Siluma was chosen to be the new acting COO of the SABC. Mike Siluma resigns.

On Friday dr. Ben Ngubane and Thami ka Plaatjie "reappoints" Hlaudi Motsoeneng as acting COO, basically by "withdrawing" the letter that usually goes to the minister of communications to say that says someone is relieved from a position.

The SABC board now comes out publicly and says the SABC board makes these decisions not the chairperson dr. Ben Ngubane and the deputy chairperson Thami ka Plaatjie.

It shows publicly and deliberately overtly that there is division and huge conflict (to put it lightly) between the SABC board on the one side and dr. Ben Ngubane (and possibly also Thami ka Plaatjie who may or may not have simply signed a form) on the other side.

The SABC board hugely damages the SABC through what it's saying (i.e revealing the conflict and contention and the apparent lack of leadership, unilateral decision making, decision-making without due process and authority) at the highest level of decision-making at the SABC.

However, the SABC board damages dr. Ben Ngubane even more by doing this. The SABC's own board is telling its chairman through its own organisation by issuing a press release that he is wrong. In-cre-dible.

The SABC board stops short of saying it in so many words, but makes it transparent that dr. Ben Ngubane is basically involved in a power grab and overstepped boundaries he should know exists and is usurping powers to make "appointments" (change SABC board decisions) which he doesn't have.

It also shows how far the SABC has fallen. The upper management echelon of the SABC no longer seems to care to present any form of a united front (keep the dirty laundry inside), or to publicly embarrass and humiliate each other in order to "win".

Meanwhile South Africa's TV industry is gasping as it looks on at the latest shocking turn of events in a real-life supersized soap opera of epic proportions which is totally eclipsing all previous scandals and breathtaking executive circuses which have played out at the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters before.

The SABC's spokesperson called me back today after I made a media enquiry asking: Who, right at this moment, is the acting COO of the SABC? The spokesperson said he is not authorised to talk about it and that I need to contact a member of the SABC board directly. That has never ever happened before.

Settle in, because there sure to be more unbelievable, yet true, chapters coming in this fast-developing story.

SABC: 'Ridiculous' the way the SABC bought programming, says chairman dr. Ben Ngubane.

The SABC's highest title holder now admits the way the South African public broadcaster bought programming for broadcast is "ridiculous" and says that one person is no longer responsible for deciding what the SABC buys, and then shows, on television.

At a hastily-convened press conference on Friday afternoon at the SABC's headquarters in Auckland Park the SABC chairperson dr Ben Ngubane also admitted that the shocking way in which the SABC acquired programming was part of the cause of the problems at the beleaguered broadcaster.

For years the SABC continued to buy sub-standard and inappropriate international programming and signed terrible package deals forcing the broadcaster to take trash television it simply kept paying for.

 Meanwhile SABC executives, some not skilled or versed in international programming acquisition - continued to jet to international buying markets - sometimes flying in luxurious first class - and picking up programming wholly unsuitable for the SABC as executives were wined and dined in exotic locales by sellers.

Besides sitting with bad TV shows, the broadcasting licensing periods of content deals of the SABC also lapsed - the window of time a broadcaster gets to start broadcasting the acquired episodes of a production - after which it forfeits the rights. This happened because of bad scheduling, ineptitude and mismanagement within SABC ranks.

Dr. Ben Ngubane said at Friday's press conference that the SABC had just paid another R416 million back of its government bailout of R1,47 billion through the government guaranteed loan from Nedbank it received in 2009 and that the SABC still owes R230 million.

Dr. Ben Ngubane said that purchase decisions can no longer be decided by one executive alone and that consensus from all executives are required.


ALSO READ: "Now is the time for SABC to work very hard to make sure that we double our efforts," says the SABC's acting chief operating officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

BREAKING. SABC says it just repayed another R416 million of its government bailout of R1,47 billion; still owes R230 million.

In the press conference this afternoon called at short notice by the SABC this morning, the South African public broadcaster said that it just paid another R416 million back of its government bailout of R1,47 billion and that the SABC still owes R230 million.

As expected, the SABC's limelight-seeking enfant terrible acting chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who famously doesn't have matric, was front-and-centre at the press conference, saying "now is the time for SABC to work very hard".

The SABC, on the brink of financial collapse due to corruption and severe financial and administrative mismanagement in 2009 received an emergency R1,47 billion bailout from the South African government in the form of a government guaranteed loan from Nedbank to bring the struggling public broadcaster back from the brink of disaster.

At this afternoon's press conference the SABC said it repayed another R416 million, and had already paid R778 million of the loan capital back. The SABC still owes R230 million.

"We are really pleased with the performance of the organisation over the last two years," says dr. Ben Ngubane, the SABC chairperson.

"It is through the Turnaround strategy and different initiatives instituted internally, that we were able to start turning the organisation around and be able to pay back Nedbank."

The SABC's next installment on the outstanding loan is due in April 2014. The SABC is paying 8,23% interest on the loan.

Dr. Ben Ngubane said the SABC can pay the outstanding amount "in a short space of time". "However, we want to keep within our capital ratios which is around R500 million and we want to be able to a lot of other things, and not limit our options."


ALSO READ: SABC to advertise the position of chief operating officer (COO), currently help by the matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng in an acting capacity, on Sunday.

BREAKING. Why the SABC can never stop The Bold and the Beautiful - public broadcaster locked into 'forever' contracts.

The Bold and the Forever Beautiful: Viewers don't have to fret about at least some shows on the SABC - there are a few programmes - American shows and soaps which will simply never go away - well, at least not until they get cancelled in America.

You have to hand it to those Forresters: The SABC simply won't - simply can't ever get rid of, or cancel some shows like the SABC1 soap The Bold and the Beautiful - the SABC is locked into a lifelong contract and is forced to keep showing The Beautiful and the Beautiful as well as some other shows until those shows one day end. If they ever end.

Dr Ben Ngubane, the SABC chairperson, revealed to parliament when he appeared for a grilling before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) tha the SABC is locked into lifelong contracts for certain American shows which the South African public broadcaster simply can't get out of. The Bold and the Beautiful is one of them.

The SABC is locked into a tight "evergreen" contract for the American soap which is binding until the series eventually ends. The SABC will have to keep showing The Bold and the Beautiful, irrespective of ratings, viewership or whether it fits with one of the SABC TV channel's demographics, until the soap goes off the air in America.

Once incredibly popular in South Africa, The Bold and the Beautiful on SABC1 has seen its viewership tumble in South Africa the past decade. Although still widely watched, the viewership of the show is nowhere near its heydey numbers of the nineties.

With lower viewership comes lower advertising rates, which means the SABC earns less from the show and from keeping it on the schedule. However, the SABC which could move Bold to another channel, will never be able to move it off of the SABC.

The SABC plans to move The Bold and the Beautiful from SABC1 to SABC2 in January 2013 to make space on SABC1 for Afcon 2013 soccer matches - deemed more desirable than the Forrester fashion froth soap.

In May the SABC CEO Lulama Mokhobo shockingly said Bold is old. Lulama Mokhobo told parliament in May that programming like The Bold and the Beautiful on the SABC is "outdated" but that the SABC needs to keep showing it.

BREAKING. SABC called a 'circus' and 'like Hollywood': SABC and chairperson Ben Ngubane blasted in parliament over lack of controls.

In the now all too common refrain, the SABC and especially its chairperson dr Ben Ngubane was blasted in parliament today, when members of parliament criticised the SABC's lack of leadership and lack of controls and called the shocking fracturous display of the SABC in parliament "a circus" and "like Hollywood".

The SABC was ordered to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) where a visibly irritated dr Ben Ngubane had to endure the scathing wrath of members of parliament and revealed that the SABC has no internal audit committee.

Meanwhile backstage drama spilled over into the public domain yet again as suspended high ranking SABC executives - one of them an SABC board member - tried to make unsolicited statements before SCOPA, highlighting in itself dr Ben Ngubane's unability to control even SABC board members and  the highly fracturous nature of the SABC board.

The suspended Gugu Duda, the SABC's chief financial officer, and the SABC board member Cawe Mahlati wanted to tell SCOPA that in their opinion the SABC was flouting good governance procedures.

Gugu Duda tried to interrupt the official proceedings just ike Cawe Mahlati did during the SABC's previous appearance in parliament to tell SCOPA her version of the major internal struggles over the past eight years at the SABC.

"This has become a circus," said Themba Godi, the SCOPA chairperson. "Never before have we seen members of a board come here, contradicting other members of the board."

"How did we choose you? What kind of people did we [parliament] choose really?" said Themba Godi with his head in his hands.

Members of parliament blasted dr Ben Ngubane, the SABC board and executives for the lack of internal controls which led to the SABC receiving yet another qualified audit for 2011/2012. "This represents a 70% failure rate," the SABC board was told.

Dr Ben Ngubane told SCOPA that there were delayes in improving governance structures at the SABC.

"The SABC is more like Hollywood, where almost everyone is an actor or in an acting position," said SCOPA. Tian Olivier, the acting chief financial officer (CFO), and Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the acting chief operating officer (COO) were two examples of SABC executives who were present in the appearance before SCOPA today and are serving in an acting capacity.

In a statement the SABC says that the public broadcaster reiterated before SCOPA "that the corporation is stabilising". The SABC says the broadcaster "has developed a corporate strategy, a concrete action to deal with audit matters and other corporate matters."

BREAKING. Auditor-general to now investigate the fractious SABC board paralysed by bitter infighting over months.

The auditor-general (AG) is now going to investigate the fractious SABC board, derailed after months of bitter infighting between board members accusing each other of corruption and mismanagement and paralysing decision making within SABC top ranks.

The acrimonious infighting between the SABC board and SABC board member Cawe Mahlati will now be investigated by the AG, with parliament's portfolio committee on communications who has decided to ask the AG to investigate the SABC board.

In September the SABC board chairperson dr Ben Ngubane shocked parliament when he announced that the SABC has "degenerted into serious dysfunctionality". He revealed that the entire SABC board has unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Cawe Mahlati and wants her gone. Cawe Mahlati has refused to step down.

In a highly embarrassing public spectacle on 18 September with the whole SABC board in parliament, Cawe Mahlati lashed back in parliament against "the rampant maladministration and corruption in the SABC board" under the "autocratic and patriarchal" leadership style of dr Ben Ngubane.

Now the portfolio committee on communications, which had to decide what course of action to take next, unanimously decided to get the help of the auditor-general in to probe the SABC board which is once again seen as not providing any effective leadership. In the SABC's latest annual report, the SABC missed most of its set strategic objectives.

According to Eric Kholwane, chairperson of the portfolio commitee on communications, the comittee could recommend that Cawe Mahlati be removed from the SABC board, depending on the outcome of the AG's findings.

BREAKING. SABC in bitter sparring in parliament: "Rampant maladministration and corruption in the SABC board," says Cawe Mahlati.

In a highly, highly embarrassing public spectacle for the SABC - a sparring match as much soap as its reality, and as fascinatingly scandalous - the persona non grata SABC board member Cawekazi Mahlati on the one hand, and the SABC chairperson dr Ben Ngubane and the rest of the SABC board on the other, viciously laid into each other in parliament today.

The result is a shockingly bitter and acrimonious display of clashing personalities laying bare the fracturous personality clashes on the SABC board whose members are supposed to steer the beleaguered public broadcaster out of crises but which remains mired in a morass of problems.

There's no love lost between Cawe Mahlati and the rest of the SABC board who've unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in her and now want her gone. All of the internal squabbles and all of its full ugliness bubbled up, over and out today in a cringeworthy, yet fascinating, and completely shocking public display of in-fighting.

It all started this morning which was yet again a an extremely shocking, cringeworthy, and painful day for the SABC as the beleaguered public broadcaster's board was roasted in parliament for the shoddy latest report compiled by the broadcaster. Members of parliament were not happy about the numerous unaddresses crises afflicting the troubled broadcaster and the lack of specific answers and detail from the SABC.

That was only this morning's session and the shape of even worse things to come.

Then already Cawe Mahlati  - according to the SABC's company secretary the only SABC board member who has after more than a year not declared outside interests - kept interrupting, saying the report discussed today in parliament never passed through the SABC board.

It suddenly became crystal clear that this afternoon's session of SABC governance and Cawe Mahlati in parliament - was going to be a zinger.

"Dr Ngubane and his leadership of the SABC board has led to the dissolution of one SABC board already," Cawe Mahlati told parliament's portfolio committee on communications this afternoon.


Cawe Mahlati told the portfolio committee that she is being singled out because she is the lone voice of reason and the voice which airs "all inconvenient truths which the SABC chairperson and some members of the SABC board seek to hide".

Cawe Mahlati also lashed out against "the rampant maladministration and corruption in the SABC board" under the "autocratic and patriarchal" leadership style of dr Ben Ngubane.

And she didn't stop there. "Dr Ben Ngubane is of the view that he is the board and the other board members have allowed him to be as such," said Cawe Mahlati.

Meanwhile members of parliament's communications committee heard that the allegations against Cawe Mahlati and the reason for the motion of no confidence in her include unethical behaviour and the failure to treat fellow SABC board members with respect and dignity.

Dr Ben Ngubane said the grievances lodged against Cawe Mahlati by the Special Monitoring Task Team is about her alleged disruptive behaviour. "Mahlati doubted and questioned every decision taken by the SABC board," dr Ben Ngubane said.

"The work of the SABC is being totally frustrated with this constant fighting, disagreements, wasting of a lot of time at SABC board meetings," dr Ben Ngubane said.

"We have a problem. And that problem is advocate Cawe Mahlati," said SABC board member Suzanne Vos.

Parliament's portfolio committee on communications will have to deliberate and decide on how to proceed with the latest squabbling and in-fighting within the SABC board.

BREAKING. Emergency SABC board meeting at the public broadcaster after massive fire engulfs SABC, destroys Isidingo and takes SABC3 off the air.

The SABC board held an urgent emergency board meeting hours ago this morning after fire raged through South Africa's public broadcaster last night, taking the one TV channel, SABC3 off the air for a while, and gutting Studio 6 in the Henley Studios complex, completely destroying the Isidingo soap set and causing tens of millions of rands worth of damage.

The SABC is in shock today after the blaze which took fire fighters, some of whom were overcome with smoke inhallation, more than three hours to get under control after it started just after 20:00 and which the SABC's internal fire control and extinguishing system couldn't put out.

The SABC's acting chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng who was on the scene of the blaze, said "this is something we don't know how to handle it, but I think we will get there."

The SABC board wanted to assess the impact of the damage caused by the fire that broke out in the Henley television production studios, and in a just-issued statement the SABC says the SABC board has "deep concern about the safety of all personnel and the possible disruption of scheduled programming on television."

Sully Motsweni, the SABC's group executive for risk and governance briefed the SABC board about the fire which was the largest the SABC has ever experienced at the public broadcaster's Auckland Park headquarters. She told the SABC board about the destruction of the fire and the contingency measures the SABC has put in place.

The SABC has offered trauma councelling to staff near the site at the time.

"In terms of production agreements we have with the producers, we have 6 weeks of material in advance, which should give us ample time to find alternative studios to produce forthcoming episodes of our popular soap, Isidingo," says the SABC.

"The other soaps, Muvhango and Generations, will not be affected, but production staff will not be able to enter the studios until the relevant authorities have declared the area safe. The cause of the fire is currently being investigated," says the SABC. Sully Motsweni is heading the SABC's internation inquiry, while authories are also investigating. Sully Motsweni is also in charge of the contingency plans that need to be put in place so that television production at the SABC can continue.

The SABC says the broadcaster wants to assure "our advertisers, viewers and listeners that our operations have not been affected. Our programmes and adverts will go on-air as scheduled."

BREAKING. 'The issues at the SABC are huge; very difficult and very complex,' says dr Ben Ngubane, SABC chairperson.

You're reading it here first.

''The issues at the SABC are huge; very difficult and very complex,'' says dr Ben Ngubane, the SABC chairperson.

Dr Ben Ngubane was speaking today in parliament to give feedback on the state of the South African public broadcaster and told parliament's portfolio committee on communications that ''a lot of work still remains''.

ALSO READ: Dr Ben Ngubane, the SABC chairperson, must be removed asks public pressure groups, trade unions and TV industry federations.

''I want to say to the advertising industry: Thank you advertising industry for supporting the SABC despite all the problems.'' Dr Ben Ngubane said that ''although there are still huge problems, we are making progress.''

Regarding the SABC's turnaround strategy dr Ben Ngubane told parliament that it's still ongoing but that the SABC has made ''sufficient turnaround in aligning the acquisition of international TV content and the commissioning of local TV content to align with the needs of channels and programming - so that what we put on TV screens is what the viewers want; that it's what the advertising industry wants, so that they can continue to invest their moneys in us with airtime and adtime purchases.''

BREAKING. South Africa's TV industry mobilising for massive public picketing at SABC during lunch hour on Thursday 24 November.

On 2 November I broke the news RIGHT HERE that a fed up South African TV industry is planning massive public protest action against the SABC; last week I broke the news RIGHT HERE that the massive public picketing of the SABC will be taking place on Thursday 24 November - and now the news comes that public protest action has been set for next week Thursday 24 November between 13:00 and 14:00 lunchtime at the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters.

A massive groundswell of organisations and groups representing the vast majority of South Africa's TV industry say they're completely fed up and tired of the struggling South African public broadcaster who remains unable to get it's house in order.

They're mobilising massive picketing action for 24 November similar to what took place in 2009 when the broadcaster was besieged by people wearing black and bemoaning the sorry state of affairs at the SABC mired by debt, management instability and corruption.

Organisations and groups now says very little has changed in two years and are demanding the resignation of dr Ben Ngubane, the SABC chairperson, who they say ''have provided little or no leadership'' and ''has been directly involved in corporate governance breaches''.

Public protesters are asked to please wear red and black and to ''bring your placards''.

South Africa's TV industry is currently mobilizing en masse and will be protesting at the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters in Henley Avenue from 13:00 next Thursday.

''The SOS Coalition has sent a series of letters including to the chairperson of the SABC board and to members of the SABC board. To date we have not had any formal written replies - either from the SABC board chairperson or from SABC board members. The SOS Coalition have therefore decided to picket.''

ALSO READ: The Support Public Broadcasting Coalition (SOS) calls for the SABC board chairperson, dr Ben Ngubane, to be removed by parliament.