Parliament approves 12 new SABC Board members

6 September 2017

The Office of the ANC Chief Whip welcomes the endorsement of twelve candidates recommended to serve on the board of the South African Broadcasting Cooperation (SABC) by parliament today.

The National Assembly approved the names of Ms Rachel Kalidass, Ms Nomvuyiso Batyi, Mr Krish Naidoo, Mr Mathatha Tsedu, Ms Khanyisile Kweyama, Mrs Febbe Potgieter-Gqubule, Mr Dinkwanyane Mohuba, Mr Jack Phalane, Mr John Matisonn, Mr Micheal Markovitz, Mr Victor Rambau and Mr Bongumusa Makhathini to fill the non-executive board positions on the SABC board.

Parliament’s recommendation of these new board members for our public broadcaster is a culmination of a transparent, open and inclusive process where more than 300 applications were processed into 36 shortlisted candidates who were interviewed in the full glare of the public.

This team holds much needed in depth knowledge in various fields, including corporate governance, legal services, financial management, journalism and communications, broadcasting administration and intellectual property laws.

We commend the portfolio committee on communications for the open, transparent and robust selection process, which produced an excellent blend of skills and experience required to take the SABC forward.

We extend our sincere gratitude to the outgoing interim board, under the chairpersonship of Ms Khanyisile Kweyama for their sterling work in implementing the recommendations of parliament’s ad hoc committee inquiry into the SABC. We are also quite pleased that all five members of the interim board have been recommended for appointment to the permanent board. We trust that they will continue their commendable work in working with the other seven candidates recommended for appointment.

This new board must draw lessons from the challenges encountered by previous boards. It must resist at all cost the temptation of getting involved in internal staff squabbles, rise above petty personality clashes and fully unite behind the execution of its fiduciary duties. We are confident that these board members will rise to the challenging tasks that lie ahead.

The Office of the ANC Chief Whip wishes these SABC board candidates well and we assure them that they have Parliament’s full support.

The names of the twelve SABC board candidates will be sent to President Jacob Zuma in terms of the Broadcasting Act for consideration and appointment before they take up their positions on the board.

Issued by Nonceba Mhlauli, Media Liaison Officer, Office of the ANC Chief Whip,6 September 2017