SABC spits in our face
The appointment of the controversial Hlaudi Motsoeneng as the SABC’s permanent chief operating officer of the SABC by the new minister of communications, after a vote by the SABC board ( Motsoeneng’s clout reaches the top), is an insult to our intelligence.
His appointment in an acting capacity and now permanently is nothing but spitting in the faces of TV licence payers, taxpayers and loyal ANC voters like myself. This man, who started as a clerk at the SABC and became a bulletin writer, is now the most powerful man in Auckland Park. Yet he has generated so much negative publicity.
This is the man who has been found to have lied about his matric, illegally increased his salary and purged dissenting voices. To be told that he was cleared by a nameless law firm adds insult to injury. We, as taxpayers, have been left with this comedy for far too long; when we tell the truth to power, we are suffocated.
Motsoeneng is pushing for the licensing of journalists and advocating sunshine journalism, without respect for editorial independence and media freedom. It is nothing but an insult to our intelligence. Clearly he has never seen the recommendations of the Press Freedom Commission, which was chaired by the late Justice Pius Langa.
To have such a person leading the public broadcaster while there are knowledgeable, experienced and competent people defies logic. Such a high-profile and strategic post requires someone with a master’s degree or an MBA. As to whether the SABC is concerned about its image, credibility and reputation – it cannot be if it is willing to appoint such a controversial figure and to allow this matter to drag on for so many years under different ministers. We have many problems in the relationship between the government and the media, and Motsoeneng is one of them. We have much to celebrate in terms of media freedom, but Motsoeneng is not one of them. He has caused damage to the public broadcaster and to government media relations. The situation is a crisis; serious intervention is needed before it becomes catastrophic. – Themba Sepotokele, Rhodes University
? The appointment of Motsoeneng to the permanent post of chief operating officer of the SABC, despite the public protector’s findings, is offensive and stinks to high heaven.
It is unconstitutional and therefore illegal. It is also not in keeping with good corporate governance. It is cocking a snook at the public, whose taxes fund the public broadcaster.
We know from the public protector’s report that Motsoeneng does not have the requisite skills and training to occupy this position. He has said that journalists should be licensed and lamented that the media was full of negative stories. He doesn’t understand the concept of freedom of expression. How can there be mostly positive stories when we have unqualified people like Motsoeneng running institutions such as the SABC?
Does he understand that the public broadcaster must be fair and impartial, with genuine editorial independence and institutional autonomy, to counterbalance the risk of misuse of power?
Does he understand that the public broadcaster must be independent, inquiring, diverse and tolerant of differences? There is crude political interference at the SABC. Political parties, as well as the broadcaster’s journalists, must resist. Motsoeneng has been appointed chief operating officer of the SABC because he is not a watchdog but a lapdog. – Sam Ditshego, Kagiso
Modise’s farm scandal should be a lesson to all
In South Africa, there is a powerful body of farmers with extensive knowledge and expertise in agricultural matters. They are faced with the extremely volatile issue of the land question, especially now, following Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Gugile Nkwinti’s pronouncements that farmers could end up having to hand over 50% of their farms to farmworkers. This could have a serious effect on the nation’s food security.
We have the horror story of National Council of Provinces speaker Thandi Modise’s farm ( Modise’s ex-lover ‘ran’ her farm), which should be ample evidence that owning a farm does not make you a farmer. What this suggests is that the skills of practising farmers are indispensable to the management of the agricultural sector. There can be no solution to the land question without the input of the farmers, white and black. We need solutions that involve co-operation and collaboration.
Farmworkers in the Western Cape went on the rampage for higher wages last year, but Modise’s farmworkers were not paid at all and were left to starve by the absentee landlord.
People in the ANC never want to acknowledge that they can learn from others; they’re always trying to reinvent the wheel so they can take all the credit.
The story of Modise’s farm cries out for help. So let’s involve all the expertise the country has in the field of farming to build a successful post-democratic agricultural industry. – Irma Liberty, Rondebosch
Rocket began it
Thank you for reminding us about the start of Elvis Presley’s musical career 60 years ago (“10 Things about Elvis Presley”, July 11) with the recording of the regional hit, That’s All Right, Mama. As your researcher rightly points out, it is debated whether That’s All Right was the first rock ‘n roll song recorded.
At the Sun Recording Studio (a national heritage site) in Memphis, Tennessee, it is documented audiovisually that the proto-rock song was Rocket 88 recorded in that same studio in 1951. This is a claim made by Sam Phillips himself, who recorded Elvis a few years later.
The song, a rollicking R&B number sung by Jackie Brenston and recorded with Ike Turner’s band, is a celebration of the popular Oldsmobile coupé of the time. It had a Rocket 88 engine. – Harry Sewlall, Benmore