/ 6 April 2010

Union demands reinstatement of SABC news anchor

The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) on Tuesday demanded the immediate reinstatement of suspended SABC3 news anchor Mahendra Raghunath.

“His suspension is a continuation of the Snukification of the SABC news division by both acting head of news Phil Molefe and SABC TV news head Amrit Manga,” said CWU spokesperson Matankana Mothapo in a statement.

He was referring to the controversial previous head of news Snuki Zikalala.

“Raghunath was suspended for speaking the truth,” Mothapo said.

Raghunath was suspended by Manga for allegedly disclosing problems at the channel’s newsroom to the Sunday Independent.

Mothapo said this showed that Molefe and Manga were “intolerant and abuse their positions of authority to silence and victimise workers”.

Raghunath’s hearing at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) had been set for April 16.

“Failure by the broadcaster to heed our calls reinforce the suspicion that the SABC news was being bullied to pursue certain sectarian agenda similar to the ones pursued during the era of Snuki Zikalala,” said Mothapo.

He also demanded a public explanation of the deliberate sidelining of labour and civil society in two key debates recently broadcast on SABC current affairs programme Asikhulume.

These debates concerned the militarisation of police and land reform.

“This is not surprising given the fact that the current acting head of news Phil Molefe is a carbon copy of Snuki Zikalala, who hated labour.”

He called for the appointment of a permanent head of news through a transparent and open process.

The SABC could not be immediately reached for comment. — Sapa