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Organisations welcome decision regarding powers of the SABC Board

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The SOS Coalition, Media Monitoring Africa and Freedom of Expression Institute welcomed the decision of the High Court on Tuesday to dismiss the Minister of Communication’s Application for leave to appeal Justice Matojane’s 2017 historic ruling regarding the powers of the SABC Board .

The ruling from October 2017, that affirmed the independence of the SABC Board, stands.

“It’s excellent for the independence of the SABC Board because it means the executive members of the Board are to be appointed solely by the non­-executive members of the board and without any requirement of approval by the Minister,” a statement read.

In other words, the SABC Board appoints the CFO, GCEO and others and the SABC Board therefore can proceed with the process of filling the vacant CFO and GCEO positions, independently without ministerial interference.

But it also means the Board has the power to institute any disciplinary proceedings against the GCEO, CFO or COO and also have the right and power to suspend the employment of the GCEO, CFO or COO.

The issues are crucial as it means the SABC Board can hire without ministerial interference and institute disciplinary process without Ministerial interference.

On Monday, Justice Matojane dismissed the application for leave to appeal with costs after Counsel for the Minister of Communications failed to appear in the High Court hearing in Pretoria.

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A resounding Victory for Media Freedom and the Independence of our Public Broadcaster!

 

 

 

 

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