On Generations and the SABC

South Africa’s favourite soap opera the SABC has come under fire for the firing of South Africa’s second favourite soap opera’s cast.

The ANC, and the ANCYL have swiftly moved in to denounce the move, with the Youth League going so far as comparing the SABC’s actions against the cast of Generations to those of labour brokers.

I don’t know about you, but I find that comparison offensive. Labour brokers can at least normally be relied upon to pay their staff.

The truth of the matter is that the SABC is a state organ, and the ANC runs the state.

On the same basis that I agree with Julius Malema blaming the ANC for the actions of the police in Marikana, one has to also blame the ANC for the sequence of events that led to the firing of the Generations cast.

Particularly given the pains the ANC has gone to in order to stamp its authority all over the running of the SABC.

I am referring to the appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as the SABC's Chief Operating Officer (COO, like the beans because he is the subject of much hot air).

As acting COO he was noted for lying about his matric and purging senior staff according to the public protector’s report that recommended he be sacked.

Instead the ANC made his position permanent, a move reminiscent of a five-year-old proclaiming, "You aren't the boss of me."

This illustrates the fact that with regards to the SABC, what the ANC wants the ANC gets and what the ANC wants isn’t generally for the good of the workers.

This is after all a political party whose minister of agriculture thought he was setting an example by paying minimum wage, and whose National Council of Provinces chairwoman is noted for her cannibal pig farm.

Cannibal Pig Farm is something you name your heavy metal band, not an actual thing you want one of your leading officials to own.

Now a soap opera isn’t exactly something I am going to get bent out of shape over.

However given the ANC’s history with labour relations, well frankly I can only think it is a matter of them noticing how angry people seem to be and trying to distance themselves from the decision.

This is the same basic problem we have across the board in terms of ANC management it is the same issue that keeps cropping up.

It is the ANC that has defined the management style of the various state bodies that the ANC runs. That is what cadre deployment ultimately means, and when it all goes wrong it has ultimately got to be the ANC that gets held to account.

But hey, the president got reelected despite getting an over R200 million upgrade to his house. Nobody is going to change their vote because their favourite TV character looks different.

Will they?