Stop political meddling at SABC
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) cautions Government and Minister of Communications Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams to stop meddling in the SABC.
“OUTA is concerned with the resignations this week by SABC board members, some of whom have been pivotal to overturning reckless decisions made during the Hlaudi Motsoeneng years,” said OUTA CEO, Wayne Duvenage.
While OUTA sympathises with those who face retrenchment, tough decisions need to be made to turn around the public broadcaster’s finances. We suggest that cuts are made where there were irregular appointments and to management salaries. OUTA hoped that the new Minister would restore the public’s confidence in the communications industry, however, she is apparently perpetuating the pattern of political meddling that was synonymous with the previous administration.
“It appears that the ANC wants control over the SABC ahead of next year’s elections which will further compromise the integrity of the SABC and deny the public access to unbiased information. We have seen this episode before and encourage the Minister to revaluate her stance to intervene in decisions aimed at improving the financial stability of the SABC,” said Duvenage.