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YOUR STORY
SABC under the spotlight
24/07/2007 11:55 - (SA)
Singabakho Nxumalo, News24 User
It started very slowly, but now it is evident that something is definitely not right at the SABC. This is seriously damaging the credibility of the SABC as the public broadcaster.
Some of the serious cases that plague the SABC include the blanket ban of certain reporters, the ban on media content (suspending some interviews ie a Jacob Zuma Interview on Asikhulume & Thabo Mbeki's documentary), the PSL TV rights, and now the damning report claiming the SABC has been defrauded to the tune of R1.8m .
What has led to this? Is it the manner in which the SABC is run?
Surely one can point out the leadership of the SABC is failing the public broadcaster? Succinctly, this does not reflect well on Dali Mpofu who took over from Peter Matlare as the Group CEO of the SABC in 2005.
It is sad to see how Adv Dali Mpofu has moved the SABC from one crisis to another since then. He took over as the right man to put the SABC on track. The man showed signs of great leadership, committed to fighting corruption, with ethics embedded on strict principles. However, one doubts whether he will stick to what he promised when he started at SABC.
Shaky start
Peter Matlare resigned from the SABC after four years to take up a position at Vodacom. Interestingly, allegations of conflict within the SABC hierarchy were highlighted as the main reasons which led Matlare to resign. This is the man who was described by Eddie Funde, chairperson of the SABC board, as someone who achieved a lot in financial results and expansion of local content, which have won the SABC numerous local and international awards. Can the same be said about Dali Mpofu at the moment?
In 2005, Dali Mpofu was described at a time of his appointment by Paul Setsetse as a man who impressed the board with his insight into the use of technology to deliver content to new audiences - which is a requirement of the SABC's licence conditions and its strategic plans. "The board believes advocate Mpofu will bring a range of skills to the corporation at a crucial time," Setsetse said.
With a string of disappointments since his appointment, surely one can look at lack of experience as one of the key factors? Another factor which might be detrimental in Mpofu's performance is the number of resignations of top managers at the SABC. This includes people like Jimi Mathews and Trevor Smith.
In defending Mpofu's lack of experience, some business leaders emphasised that if he is a good manager, he will be able manage the SABC, despite the fact he lacks broadcast experience. With so much happening around him, surely an experience in handling broadcasting matters should have helped to salvage the SABC's reputation?
Poor track record
The SABC failed dismally in handling the withdrawal of the President Thabo Mbeki documentary. They gave inadequate and confusing reasons for not screening it. They cited defamation as the main reason for its withdrawal and when the SABC decided to pull it, they did not even inform the producers.
The furore surrounding an urgent interdict to prevent the Mail & Guardian newspaper along with the Harold Wolpe Memorial Trust to screen the documentary as part of their Critical Thinking Forum from July 19 to July 26 at venues across the country (which was later withdrawn), maximised the impact of the issue.
The reason given by SABC spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago, was that the programme was canned because internal approval processes were not correctly followed. This clearly shows that there is chaos in the SABC, and that there is no working together of units (and as a result, they end up working against one another instead).
The saga surrounding a blanket ban of certain reporters has also got out of hand, after the SABC decided to sit on the report of the Sisulu commission of inquiry into its news operation for more than a week, debating whether to release it in full or in an abbreviated version. The report was then leaked to the media.
How do you then control something which has been leaked to the media? Who is going to believe you after that whether or not you will be delivering objective news? This case centred around involvement of the SABC head of news, Snuki Zikalala, who is assumed to be one of the people who pushed Peter Matlare out of SABC.
The action taken by the SABC after the commission's findings was shocking: Snuki Zikalala walked away with a verbal warning. The congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) cried in dismay over the SABC board's decision as they regarded the action as very lenient and referred to the matter as crisis.
The rights issue
It was then not surprising to see the SABC loosing the PSL TV rights to Supersport. The SABC was caught with its pants down after so many years manipulating the system as there was no broader understanding of handling broadcasting rights with the PSL. The effort by the SABC to prevent the PSL from engaging with other broadcasting companies clearly showed that they knew very well they did not stand a good chance of winning the bid.
Yes, the SABC lost and Dali Mpofu has been trying tirelessly to use each and every opportunity at his disposal to get back the rights. He has tried using the public as his main plea from the PSL, but it is clear that it's not working. Loosing the PSL TV rights has been predicted as a situation which will lead to certain individuals loosing their jobs. This includes Dali Mpofu.
In all this happening, Kaizer Kganyago has either denied allegations or cannot be reached for comment. This is a role he shares with Dali Mpofu, the man who has consistently been on our screen (more than any other CEO before) since taking over the reigns.
The latest incident involving the Mail & Guardian gagged in publishing an internal report on the state of SABC, which involves mismanagement and financial related matters, is another huge blow to the SABC's reputation.
Board to death
Where is the board when all this happens? Yes, the board is not responsible for the day-to-day running of the business, but when things are going at this pace, it has to do something before the SABC becomes a useless entity adding no value to the public.
The present situation shows that the SABC needs a huge makeover. Even the board of directors needs to shake itself and see if it is serving the national broadcaster effectively and accordingly. This also applies to the management.
A company can not afford to move from one blunder to another but yet everything is treated as if nothing happened. Dali Mpofu will have to ask himself if he has what it takes to be the Group CEO of the SABC or else he should over Kaizer Kganyago's job as the spokesperson for the SABC.
Instead of tackling issues, the man is just filibustering.
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