Parliament finally decides that convicted fraudster Rubben Mohlaloga should be fired as chairperson of South Africa's broadcasting regulator, Icasa, immediately.

South Africa's parliament on Tuesday decided that the convicted fraudster, Rubben Mohlaloga, should be fired as chairperson of the country's broadcasting regulator and that he must be suspended with immediate effect from his position at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

On Tuesday parliament's portfolio committee on communications decided to finally get rid of the convicted fraudster who was sentenced to 20 years in prison n the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Courtfor money laundering and defrauding the Land Bank of R6 million, yet continues to hold the position as chairperson of South Africa's broadcasting regulator since he was appointed in December 2017.

Parliament's committee finally agreed in a long-overdue decision that "the fraud conviction is extremely serious and involves a substantial amount of public money that was appropriated for the benefit of emerging black farmers".

Parliament's portfolio committee on communications said it recommends that Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, South Africa's latest minister of communications, suspend Rubben Mohlaloga immediately as Icasa chairperson,until he can be fired by parliament's Nasional Assembly.

Hlengiwe Mkhize, chairperson of parliament's portfolio committee on communications, said that "by the end of today, it will be with the National Assembly, it will be tabled".

South Africa's parliament lies and says SABC board candidates interviewed showed the required level of expertise. They didn't.

The chairperson of South Africa's parliament portfolio committee - tasked with oversight of the SABC - again lied, saying that the shortlisted SABC board candidates interviewed this week for the vacant positions at the South African public broadcaster showed the required level of expertise in different fields and that the committee has confidence in the calibre of candidates.

That's a lie.

Several of the 24 shortlisted candidates don't have the required level of expertise and they are not all a high calibre level of candidates.

There are 8 vacancies on the unstable and inquorate board of the struggling and financially battered SABC.

"We are mainly satisfied with the proportional representation with regards to gender, age and racial diversity in line with national demographics. We view the level of interest to serve on the SABC board as a sign of confidence in the entity," says Hlengiwe Mkhize, committee chairperson in a statement issued on Friday.

Hlengiwe Mkhize said the candidates demonstrated the required level of expertise in different fields, including corporate governance, law, finance, accounting, art and culture as well as journalism.

Nope.

The process of filling and appoint the SABC board is flawed and remains flawed, since the system is flawed, with politicians (and politicians want power) choosing and appointing the SABC board.

To understand the game dynamics, watch Game of Thrones on M-Net (DStv 101) and really do yourself a favour and read Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.

You will come to understand why the situation with the ever-troubled SABC board will never change until the system - and the way that it is set up to deliver the people to that group - changes.

Let's analyse Hlengiwe Mkhize's face-value statements about the SABC board candidates.

Let's start with the "level of interest to serve on the SABC board as a sign of confidence in the entity".

Out of the total applications, roughly a third were from clueless interns looking for job training and wanting to do internships at the SABC. These 90 were discarded.

It left 233. 80 of these were actually tacked on from the previous time that vacancies on the SABC board were advertised and shortlisted earlier in 2018 and not received during December when SABC board vacancies were advertised again.

In reality, not that many people applied, and out of those who did apply a lot were young people seeking internships. That isn't a good or proper measure or indicator of either interest to serve on the SABC board or a "sign of confidence".

Next, let's look at Hlengiwe Mkhize PR assertion about the candidates demonstrating the required level of expertise in different fields.

Firstly, there was a lack under the 24 SABC board member candidates when it comes to a real background and experience in the actual business of broadcasting and journalism. Several had dubious levels of so-called "expertise".

The majority admitted to having no broadcast experience. Yet these are the 24 "best" selected out of close to 400 applications. That is bad.

Several had expressed previous support for the famously matricless and destructive fired former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng or having had done nothing when they could have, and saying at the time he was the victim and "targeted". Why were they even shortlisted?

The former SABC CEO Lulama Mokhobo twice quit the SABC before, yet wants back for a third time to the SABC during an even more difficult time for the broadcaster when she couldn't cope with Hlaudi Motsoeneng who was her underling. Why was she even shortlisted?

One admitted she doesn't watch SABC television.

That's like applying at an ice-cream factory but during the job interview admitting you don't really like their product and haven't tasted it.

One wants South African viewers who don't pay their SABC TV licences cut off from seeing the South African public broadcaster.

One expressed a desire (and unknowingly editorial interference) for the SABC's SABC News division to - just like Hlaudi Motsoeneng ordered - "tell good stories".

One didn't know what digital terrestrial television (DTT) was or stood for, or what OTT (over-the-top) means.

One thought M-Net was the SABC.

South Africa's parliament dumps 90 applications to serve on the SABC board from mostly young people, applying and looking to do 'internships'.

South Africa's parliament portfolio committee dealing with applications from the public for the several vacant positions for the SABC board has had to dump 90 - from primarily young people - applying for "internships" to serve on the board of the South African public broadcaster.

Besides the 90, parliament received 233 applications - 243 of the overall total submitted during December 2018 - for the 8 SABC board vacancies.

The committee will from next week, Tuesday 26 February, begin the process of shortlisting candidates to be interviewed to fill the vacant SABC board positions.

Parliament's apparently lazy portfolio committee on communications led by chairperson Hlengiwe Mkhize has been criticised for having taken months to start the process to sift and begin interviews with shortlisted candidates for the positions.

Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) has slammed the delay by South Africa's government and parliament's portfolio committee on communications to appoint new SABC board members for the vacancies that have existed for months, as a gross dereliction of duty, a violation of their oath of office, and "acts of treason".

The SABC, commercially insolvent, has once again been adrift rudderless for months, hovering on the brink of complete financial collapse with an unstable and inquorate SABC board, months before 9 May's national election date in an election year.

The SABC board is supposed to have 12 board members including the SABC CEO, COO and CFO, and requires 9 new ones.

Parliament's portfolio committee on communications led by chairperson Hlengiwe Mkhize, lied, saying it would return in early-2019, and then lied again to the South African public saying it would start the process of interviews in mid-January. Neither happened.

Parliament's current term ends on 20 March, leaving a month to complete interviews, chose candidates and send those names for the SABC board to the National Assembly to then send the names to president Cyril Ramaphosa to ceremonially rubberstamp and approve.

Hlengiwe Mkhize blamed parliament staff for moving slowly with the administration and bureaucracy, saying on Tuesday that "it's a due process overseen by the legal department. There are steps. You can't just jump and take over."

Phumzile Van Damme from the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party said it was "a shame and an embarrassment" to blame the secretariat of the parliamentary committee for the false promises and that Hlengiwe Mkhize should take the blame.