Media Monitoring Africa, a non-profit organisation, has confirmed that it only became aware that the former Communications Minister, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni questioned the inclusion of former head of SABC News Phathiswa Magopeni on the public broadcaster’s board after court papers were filed.
DA Member of Parliament’s Communications Committee, Dianne Kohler-Barnard has slammed both President Cyril Ramaphosa and former Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni over delays in the appointment of the #SABCBoard #UpdateAtNoon #SABCNews pic.twitter.com/hLgn4fQ40b
— #UpdateAtNoon 104-107fm 📻 (@UpdateAtNoon) March 13, 2023
SABC Board | Ramaphosa denies acting inappropriately by not appointing Board: Thandi Smith
Media Monitoring Africa has approached the court to request it force Ramaphosa to appoint the board without further delay.
If there is no Board, then there is no governance, no accountability at the SABC and the ability to fulfil its important constitutional role is jeopardised.
READ MORE HERE: https://t.co/nG7XcHPDfE#AppointSABCBoard #ACTNOW#DefendPublicBroadcasting #SaveOurSABC pic.twitter.com/nIEb2vZISq
— Media Matters (@MediaMattersZA) March 2, 2023
The organisation’s Director William Bird says it was contained in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s responding papers to the media watchdog’s Constitutional Court challenge.
In an interview with SABC News, Bird says Ntshavheni’s meddling was unacceptable.
“I think it’s completely and utterly inappropriate for the minister to have done so, she did so well after the twelve names have been sent through and she raised concerns when she raised concerns. Why did she not do so in the public process for her to see? On Wednesday it will be 5 months, 5 months of a completely engineered crisis. Parliament did not act with haste and all sorts of delays. And despite that, the Presidency has continued to act and allow all sorts of unreasonable delays to occur, so now we are sitting at five months of the SABC without a board,” says Bird.
DELAY IN THE APPOINTMENT OF SABC BOARD UNFORTUNATE, SAYS PRESIDENCY.#MMaInTheMedia
READ MORE HERE: https://t.co/5jge3ec3gO pic.twitter.com/EdmzCJgB6T
— Media Matters (@MediaMattersZA) March 9, 2023
Media Monitoring Africa takes Ramaphosa to court over SABC Board
