'I never lied about matric certificate,' Hlaudi Motsoeneng tells state capture inquiry
10 September 2019
Former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng has told the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture that he never lied to the public broadcaster about his qualifications.
Testifying before inquiry chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, Motsoeneng said it was an "insult" for people to say he had lied about his matric certificate.
"I never lied, chairperson. God knows, I never lied. Those people who have employed me, they know," he said.
"It doesn't go well with me when everyone, media and others, they portray me as a liar, including [former] Public Protector [Thuli Madonsela], and I'm going to demonstrate to you chairperson, that, I was approached by Alwyn Kloppers."
He also told Zondo that people had been tarninishing his name about the matric certificate.
Motsoeneng was appointed acting COO in 2011. He was later appointed permanently in the same position in July 2014, despite not having a matric certificate or university qualifications, as Fin24 earlier reported.
He was suspended later in 2014 by a high court order which resulted in years of court challenges around his role in the SABC.
In February 2014, just months before his permanent appointment, former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela released a report which found him guilty of lying about his qualifications.
In her report titled 'When governance and ethic fail', Madonsela stated that: "The allegation that Mr Motsoeneng was appointed to several posts at the SABC despite having no qualifications as required for such posts, including a matric certificate, is substantiated, and this constitutes improper conduct and maladministration."
'I'm very educated'
But Motsoeneng told Zondo that he had been headhunted by an Alwyn Kloppers who was in charge of current affairs and news at the time.
He said the SABC took him on a course while he was still a freelancer.
He said, after he completed it, he was given a permanent post at the public broadcaster. He said, a day after he was appointed, he completed a form and highlighted that he did not have a matric.
He told Zondo that the position he was appointed to in 1995 did not require a matric certificate. "In my view, chairperson, I'm very educated. I'm very educated," he said.
He also told the commission that he had won awards within the SABC, and that he was never afraid of measuring up against people and their qualifications.
He said he was the "main man, influencing the decisions within the SABC. So that shows that I'm capable, I have skills".
The hearing continues.
