Probe allegation that Maguvhe misled SABC inquiry: Parliament’s communications committee

Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications feels “vindicated” by the “resignation by the last remaining member and chairperson of the South African Broadcasting Corporation Board (SABC)‚ Prof Mbulaheni Maguvhe”.

The news that he had stepped down emerged on Monday after President Jacob Zuma said he had received‚ and accepted‚ the resignation.

“The President has thanked Professor Maguvhe for his services during his tenure at the SABC and wished him all the best for his future endeavours‚” read a statement from the presidency.

Portfolio committee chairperson Humphrey Maxegwana noted on Monday that the “committee had resolved during its meeting on 5 October 2016 to ask all the then remaining SABC board members to resign or face inquiry into their fitness to hold office”.

All but Maguvhe stepped down‚ until Monday.

“The committee feels vindicated‚ but maintains that Prof Maguvhe should have resigned earlier without resorting to delaying tactics that wasted the time of Parliament‚” Maxegwana added.

It was the portfolio committee that was originally supposed to probe the many crises which had beset the public broadcaster‚ but the ad hoc committee on SABC board inquiry was set up after members of the SABC board raised concerns that the portfolio committee was prejudiced.

Maxegwana said that the portfolio committee “is also concerned by the allegations that Prof Maguvhe might have misled the ad hoc committee” and will call on it to “investigate the allegation”.

This appeared to be a reference to an accusation by Democratic Alliance MP Phumzile van Damme when she tackled Maguvhe over his failed urgent court interdict to halt the inquiry going ahead.

“Your advocate in the high court was very clear. It was in your personal capacity. The SABC only joined later on‚” Van Damme said at a sitting last week.

“So why would you mislead this committee and say you didn’t know it was in your personal capacity?” she asked.

Maguvhe‚ until Monday the sole remaining member of the board‚ last week defended the board’s decision to appoint the broadcaster’s former chief operating Hlaudi Motsoeneng‚ at a sitting of the parliamentary committee which is currently conducting an inquiry into the board’s fitness.

When pressed on why the board took the decision to appoint Motsoeneng despite former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s findings and recommendations‚ Maguvhe said the board was not aware that those recommendations were binding.

“Most of us were not aware that the recommendations by the public protector were binding. It was only after the Constitutional Court ruling that they mentioned that they were binding‚” he said.

Madonsela found that Motsoeneng had lied about his matric qualification‚ had increased his salary irregularly from R1.5-million to R2.4-million and had purged employees. She ruled that a replacement for Motsoeneng should be found within 90 days. But‚ in July 2014‚ Minister of Communications Faith Muthambi appointed him permanent COO.

The parliamentary ad hoc committee on the SABC board inquiry is due to present its report to Parliament on February 28. – TMG Digital