Managers take SABC for a ride on petrol cards

SABC managers, among them former head of news Snuki Zikalala and former head of content enterprise Mvuso Mbebe, raked up R11-million in excessive petrol card expenses at a time when the public broadcaster was bleeding financially, MPs heard this week.

Zikalala and Mbebe were named along with nine other senior managers as having abused their company petrol cards, with Mbebe alleged to have used the card to fix the engine and gearbox on his private motor vehicle. Zikalala was named as having spent R40000 in one month on his petrol card.

This emerged during a heated hearing of parliament's public finance watchdog Scopa, which was interrogating the embattled SABC board, led by chairman Ben Ngubane, on the finances of the cash-strapped public broadcaster.

Acting SABC Group CEO Robin Nicholson was initially reluctant to reveal the names of the managers who were alleged to have abused their petrol cards, claiming that he could not remember them.

Scopa chairman Themba Godi then directed the question to officials of the auditor-general's office who were part of a forensic investigation into financial mismanagement at the public broadcaster.

The officials listed Mbebe, Zikalala and nine other regional managers as having run up R11-million in petrol card expenses during the 2008/09 financial year.

Zikalala, who earned more than R2-million during that financial year, ran up the R40000 bill on his SABC petrol card in June 2008, Scopa heard.

Nicholson later told the stunned Scopa members that Mbebe had swiped the SABC petrol card to purchase a new engine and gearbox for his car at a cost of R72000.

Another manager in the finance division was found to have used the petrol card to buy a new set of tyres for his personal car two weeks before resigning from the SABC.

Zikalala and Mbebe have denied any wrongdoing.

It emerged that little or no action had been taken against the managers. Nicholson said some of those implicated were allowed to resign before they could be charged.

He said, however, that it was unavoidable that some of the regional managers would run up such high petrol costs as they often had to travel long distances to "conduct stakeholder relations".

"From a finance point of view we did a review of all of them. In some cases we had discussions with the managers about the abuse of their vehicles," said Nicholson.

Mbebe denied any wrongdoing when contacted by the Sunday Times: "I never used the card excessively or to abuse it. I used it within the regulations and within my terms of contract," he said.

He added that allegation of having abused the petrol card was given as one of the reasons for his suspension from the public broadcaster.

"That was the subject of my disciplinary hearing and up to this point the SABC has not found me guilty of any wrongdoing," he said.

Zikalala also denied abusing his SABC petrol card, saying the auditor-general had found no impropriety on his part or on the part of the news division he headed when the forensic audit was conducted.

This was the second time in seven days that the SABC board had appeared before parliament.