SABC backs call for mediation

2008-06-24 19:03

Johannesburg - The SABC welcomed an appeal by a Johannesburg High Court Judge on Tuesday for its chief executive Dali Mpofu and the SABC board to resolve their dispute over his suspension outside the courts.

Judge Mahomed Jajbhay postponed the case dealing with Mpofu's third suspension in less than two months to next week but called on the parties to consider outside mediation.

Board chairperson Khanyi Mkonza said the SABC welcomed the decision to postpone the proceedings brought by Mpofu in the High Court, to allow the issues to be properly dealt with.

It also welcomed the comments of Judge Jajbhay encouraging a mediation process to resolve the litigation initiated by the suspended Mpofu.

'It can be resolved'

"Please try to resolve this matter...it can be resolved," said Jajbhay.

"That is a personal plea I make from the bench...this matter is able to be resolved outside the court."

"I'm happy to do it outside my judiciary capacity...I make the offer on a very serious note. It's in the national interest to resolve this matter once and for all," he said."

Before the matter came before court the SABC had proposed an unconditional process of mediation to deal with the issues in the litigation, said Mkonza.

She said the SABC considered the charges of misconduct against Mpofu to be very serious and therefore it was important that it follow due process in dealing with it.

"We will not deal with this issue in the media but in the meantime are considering ways in which the judge's mediation proposal can be implemented," she said.

Mpofu was in court to appeal his third suspension from the public broadcaster. He filed court papers last week that highlighted differences between board members and wants the court to order President Thabo Mbeki and Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe Casaburri to sack the board.

Mpofu was first suspended on May 7, a day after he suspended his news chief Snuki Zikalala, who was accused of leaking a memorandum on Mpofu's alleged bad management of the SABC.

Independence of board chairperson

Mpofu challenged his suspension and the Johannesburg High Court ruled in his favour. In his judgment, the judge in that matter expressed his concern over the independence of the board's chairperson.

A few days later, Mpofu was suspended for a second time. On June 2, the court again set his suspension aside and denied the SABC board leave to appeal its judgment.

Meanwhile, some 50 members of the SABC's senior management forum have signed a petition calling for the board to step down.

The internal politics at the public broadcaster have intensified since the election of a new ANC leadership at Polokwane in December, with management and board members apparently aligned to different factions within the ruling party.

Mbeki appointed a new SABC board, under the chair of Mkonza, shortly after the conclusion of the Polokwane congress.

He was criticised for choosing board members perceived to be aligned to the presidency.

In the run-up to the Polokwane congress, which elected Jacob Zuma as the new ruling party president, the SABC was accused of bias toward Mbeki.

- SAPA