MDDA Chairperson must be suspended immediately

The DA calls on the Minister of Communications, Ayanda Dlodlo, to immediately suspend the Chairperson of the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), Phelisa Nkomo.

The Minister has recently stated that she cannot suspend the Chairperson based on rumours. These are no longer rumours, the DA now has proof of the Chairperson’s misconduct.

Following a PAIA application submitted by the DA, a report detailing alleged gross mismanagement and abuse of power at the MDDA has finally been released. The report was finalised in November 2016 and handed over to Minister Dlodlo in April.

The Minister had been sitting on the report for almost six months, and the Chairperson is heavily implicated for her alleged misconduct.

The report revealed that “Nkomo, the Chairperson received payments totalling to R235 304.04 including board fees and other expenses over a period of 12 months, from January 2015 to December 2015. It should be noted that the board fee is about R2 200 per meeting”.

Furthermore, the report also states that “The investing team on random check found an exorbitant fee to the tune of R95 266.34 for minute taking”. According to the report, “the minutes of Board meetings were not signed by the Chairperson”, which in contravention of the MDDA Act, but “also undermine the authenticity of the minutes and the decisions contained therein”.

Minister Dlodlo must ensure that disciplinary proceedings are immediately instituted against the Chairperson, as the report found that she “failed to provide leadership and stabilise the organisation” and that “[some] lapses in Governance that directly implicate the Chairperson include: Fruitless and wasteful expenditure, contravention of the act, dishonesty of the Chairperson and negligence in the use of public funds.”

The Minister has been sitting on this report without taking any actions against the Chairperson.

The DA finds it very suspicious that the Minister is protecting this Chairperson who has clearly lost the plot.

Statement issued by Veronica van Dyk MP, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Communications, 7 October 2017