The Cape Town Press Club hopes for a passing of the “Hlaudi Motsoeneng cloud…soon after the upcoming local elections”. The organisation made this comment about the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) chief operating officer after its AGM on Thursday night.“The SABC has done the right thing not to appeal the Labour Court’s order to reinstate its former employees‚” it said of this week’s developments.“This group of producers and reporters have been vindicated for the principled stance they took. And we congratulate them for standing their ground.”The Labour Court had ruled that the SABC staffers were illegally dismissed for voicing their opposition to Motsoeneng’s edict of a ban on footage from violent protests.After an initial standoff‚ in which the SABC refused to allow them to return to their jobs pending an appeal‚ the broadcaster relented.“This group’s return to work is not the end of this story‚ though‚” the Press Club warned. “The atmosphere of fear that is reported to exist at the SABC does not bode well for journalists trying to do their job‚ a job that is of crucial for a healthy democracy. We hope the COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng cloud will pass soon after the upcoming local elections when he will have finished serving his current purpose.“Hundreds of committed reporters at the SABC need to have the freedom to meet their commitment to South Africa as members of a public broadcaster.“The Cape Town Press Club will support other organisations such as the SA National Editors Forum in whichever way we can to help get the SABC back on track.”..