Mpofu rejects Cabinet plot

2008-05-04 23:34

Johannesburg - SABC CEO Dali Mpofu has on Sunday rejected the "insinuations" that there was a Cabinet plot against him.

This follows newspaper reports that he accused Thabo Mbeki's Cabinet of plotting to oust his from his position. Mpofu told Parliament that he received information that someone "from high up" gave instructions that he should be fired.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said this was in response to a question and this utterance does not refer to Cabinet, but to an individual high up who happens to be a member of Cabinet.

Kganyago said the Sunday' Time's headline 'Cabinet Plots against Me: SABC Boss' does not represent the true nature of what transpired in Parliament and is not corroborated by the story itself.

"(Mpofu) stands by what he said in Parliament and would only be in a position to reveal the identity of the individual concerned at the appropriate time and forum," he said.

"(He) does not believe that the individual was acting on behalf of Cabinet or any other constitutional body."

Kganyago added that the insinuation that the statement was referring to Cabinet was false and was intended to "create confusion" in people's minds and "divert attention from the real issues".

There were also reports that both Mpofu and director of news Snuki Zikalala were on a collision course after Mpofu's management team demanded that Zikalala be fired.

Successors for Zikalala's and other posts had already been identified and "some have even been approached".

These included a prominent academic and a senior executive working for an independent radio station.

After President Thabo Mbeki's defeat at the ANC's Polokwane conference, Cosatu called for the axing of both Mpofu and Zikalala.

- SAPA