The SABC again finds itself caught up in the fierce battles for the leadership of the governing party. President Jacob Zuma's apparent unwillingness to approve people to serve on a new SABC board is a brazen attempt to find individuals who will do his bidding; but it could jeopardise initiatives taken by the interim board to stabilise the corporation.
The names were sent to Zuma for approval more than a month ago, and the new board was meant to take over from the interim board, whose six-month term expired at the end of last month. Zuma's failure to approve the list has left the SABC leaderless.
But this is déjà vu. Ten years ago a fight over SABC board appointments was the trigger that ultimately led to the sacking of Thabo Mbeki as president. A list of new board members had been sent to Mbeki for approval prior to the Polokwane conference. Emboldened by their victory at the conference, Zuma and his people insisted that Mbeki should not appoint the new board as he was now a lame-duck president. Mbeki ignored their instruction. Their relationship deteriorated even further, leading to his forced departure from office.But now the SABC is in a much more precarious position. After Hlaudi Motsoeneng's deranged and destructive reign, it is bankrupt and overmanned, staff morale is low, the technology is almost obsolete and even the buildings could do with a coat of paint.
More than at any other time in its history, the SABC is on its knees. It needs to recover its credibility with audiences and advertisers. For that to happen, it requires fresh and stable leadership.
By all accounts, the interim board seems to have done a commendable job within a short space of time and under trying circumstances. A semblance of stability seems to be returning to the corporation. The finances are improving. Motsoeneng and his band of marauders are out. The board has also been able to stop millions in pension money being paid to Motsoeneng and James Aguma, his sidekick. The board believes they owe the SABC money instead.
And the corporation has at last been freed from the unwanted embrace of the Guptas, who were using it as one of their cash cows, just as they have with other parastatals such as Eskom and Transnet.
The family is now demanding R85-million from the SABC for cancelling its money-spinning business breakfasts. The board believes the cancellation of the contract was legal.
But it is the change in perception among staff that is having the biggest impact. Journalists and producers can now report without looking over their shoulders. They have the freedom to use their skills and exercise their judgment without fear of retribution.
Amid all the turbulence, Communications Minister Ayanda Dlodlo has been more of a hindrance than a help. In fact, she caused so much animus by her constant interference that she and board chairwoman Khanyisile Kweyama were barely on speaking terms.A few weeks before prospective board members were interviewed by parliament, Kweyama was summoned to Luthuli House, where she was confronted with a litany of complaints by ANC leaders. Dlodlo was leading the charge against the interim board. Kweyama was told the ANC was under attack from all fronts and the SABC, the news department in particular, was the party's only propaganda tool. The changes the board was bringing about, she was told, would therefore jeopardise the ANC's position.
Dlodlo also demanded the list of applicants for the CEO position because, she said, she wanted to brief the ANC deployment committee. The board refused, saying the list was still with the head-hunters. When Dlodlo failed to secure the list through an intermediary, she went straight to the head-hunters herself, who also refused to give it to her.
Although Zuma and Dlodlo don't like the proposed board, they don't seem to be on the same page as to what they would prefer. In fact Zuma is said to have hauled Dlodlo over the coals because of what he regards as her failure to stop some of the changes at the SABC. As one board nominee pointed out: "The only thing they agree on is that we shouldn't be there."
Zuma has used all sorts of delaying tactics in order not to approve the new board. He demanded the nominees' identity documents and academic qualifications before it was pointed out to his office that all the candidates had been vetted by parliament. On Monday, the Presidency called again: Zuma wanted the nominees' matric certificates. Which makes one wonder: what's the point of a matric certificate if one already has a post-matric qualification?Zuma has been so exercised by SABC matters that he's personally phoned some DJs on Ukhozi FM, its station in Durban. The Presidency complained that one DJ had dropped Zuma from his programme at the eleventh hour without telling him.
The obsession with Ukhozi FM is not as ludicrous or hilarious as it sounds. The station is massively influential in KwaZulu-Natal, which is key to Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's prospects of succeeding her ex-husband. The situation is even more challenging for her now that Zweli Mkhize's star seems to be rising. If she fails to do well in the province she might as well kiss her chances goodbye.
Zuma's unwillingness to approve the board therefore has everything to do with Dlamini-Zuma. He wants wall-to-wall coverage for her. She is his only ticket to a life free of any possibility of imprisonment after he leaves office.
But his stalling is having a chilling effect on staff morale and could undo the good work achieved by the interim board.
Parliament has done the hard work. All Zuma has to do is attach his signature without delay. He'd also do well to appoint a minister who will protect the SABC, rather than throw it to the wolves...