The standoff between the SABC Board and the Executive is old news, and it was precisely the prospect of a deficit that prompted Board action against GCEO

Those persons who have leaked a Deloitte report into corporate governance to Mail & Guardian and Business Day to coincide with the SABC's announcement of an anticipated R780 m deficit no doubt hope that they are preparing the ground for the dissolution of the Board. But the stand-off between the Board and executive management which appears to form the subject matter of the Deloitte's report is a matter of public record, and essentially a politically-driven contest that frequently played itself out in the committee rooms of Parliament. Any attempt to conduct an enquiry into the Board's ability to  run the Corporation will also have to consider the report of the Minister of Communications' team of experts, furnished to MPs in February.

Such an enquiry would have to observe fair procedure after President Motlanthe sent the Broadcasting Amendment Bill back to Parliament at the request of the DA, IFP and Freedom Front. The Bill was duly amended, and will come into effect once the President has considered the amendments and signed it into law.

The Minister's expert report reveals that it was precisely the prospect of a deficit budget (at the start of 2008, long before the current economic contraction) that prompted the then new SABC Chairperson Khanyi Mkhonza to have a subcommittee of the Board appointed to investigate then GCEO Dali Mpofu's conduct and to seek legal advice on the issues and the way forward.

Attorneys Bowman Gilfillan recommended the institution of disciplinary action against Adv Mpofu on a range of matters including breach of financial policies and procedures. These include failure to submit the budget to the finance committee of the Board before presentation to the Board and late presentation.

Further charges relate inter alia to:

Payments without contract: a total of R144m was paid out without contract in breach of SABC procedures and the PFMA;

Sports rights: the loss of the International Cricket Council  and Premier Soccer League broadcast rights and the GCEO's conclusion of the A1 Grand Prix contract despite Board reservations;

Failure to implement various Board resolutions relating to recruitment of key personnel;

To these charges, the Board added inter alia, the alleged conclusion of a R330m contract with Siemens without authority;

Various omissions in respect of the case of the former Head of Legal Affairs M. Sihlali, including the GCEO's failure to prevent fraudulent billing;

Payment of bonuses to executives and management without following procedure or conducting performance assessments;

Approval of excessive overseas travel by the executive team.

The expert team concluded that many problems at the SABC are structural; that many predate the current Board; and that there is a dire need for a turnaround of the entity and a strategy for this needs to be developed.

Attempts to do just this have of course become bogged down in litigation as Adv Mpofu attempted to fight his suspension and dismissal, with half of his oversized executive committee assisting him in laying siege to the Board. He went so far as to claim that the Board had no power to conduct disciplinary investigations or suspensions, even though his contract explicitly states that he is an SABC employee subject to its disciplinary procedures. He lost his last case resoundingly.

The strategy tabled by Adv Mpofu and his executive team when the new Board took office was also tabled in Parliament, but its discussion blocked by ANC MPs. The document was barely literate. The DA has since then (at presentation of the Annual Report) engaged with the SABC on cost cutting. We are pleased that some overseas missions are being cut back but suggest more will have to follow.

We support the SABC's proposed retention of its working staff, but suggest the Executive Committee should be slashed in half and returned to the size originally legislated. Government should continue with ring-fenced transfers for technological migration but we remain distrustful of all attempts to finance the SABC direct, as the ANC has twice resolved at its conferences.

TV licence fees are an antiquated concept dating from the days when the only TV was offered by the public broadcaster - but as a source of revenue, they remain a democratically safer option than money paid by government for what would soon turn into government propaganda.

Statement issued by Dene Smuts MP, Democratic Alliance spokesperson on communications, March 6 2009

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