SABC chair slams Parliament

2008-11-19 09:01

Johannesburg - SABC board chairperson Kanyi Mkonza on Tuesday accused the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications of failing to support the public broadcaster's board.

She made this statement in light of harsh comments made by the media and the portfolio committee regarding the public broadcaster's poor financial performance and its qualified audit report earlier this year.

"As soon as the seriousness of the financial trouble facing the corporation became apparent the board acted firmly in order to ensure the viability of the public broadcaster... Despite all attempts of the Board to prevent the implosion of the SABC, we did not get the support that we needed - the board needed the unwavering support of the portfolio committee," Mkonza said.

Attacks on integrity of board

Addressing the committee in Cape Town, Mkonza said that despite writing a memorandum "expressing grave concerns about the unhealthy state of finances at the SABC", the committee decided to mount "unrelenting attacks on the integrity of the board".

"... I then convened an extraordinary meeting of the non-executive directors of the board to deal with this situation and hold the GCEO accountable for all that the board was concerned about... but what followed was a barrage of attacks on the board, including being hauled in front of the committee," she said.

While appealing to the committee to "share the responsibility of ensuring that South Africa has a credible and successful public broadcaster", Mkonza said the board was hard at work, ensuring the possibility of a clean, unqualified audit report for 2009.

- SAPA