/ 17 December 2014

Tshabalala resigns as SABC chairperson

Tshabalala Resigns As Sabc Chairperson

SABC board chairperson Ellen Tshabalala has resigned with immediate effect, the presidency said on Wednesday.

Spokesperson Mac Maharaj said President Jacob Zuma received and accepted her resignation as board member and chairperson. “The president thanks Ms Tshabalala for her contribution to the public broadcaster and wishes her all the best in her future endeavours,” he said in a statement. 

Tshabalala has been under fire for not providing proof of her qualifications, as requested by a parliamentary committee.

Refusal to resign
Earlier this month Tshabalala cried foul over Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications inquiry that found her guilty on two charges, claiming it could be a political agenda and said she would not resign.   

She claimed that “elements within the alliance” were hell bent to purge and vilify her. “I am not willing to resign because I did nothing wrong.”   

The committee found her guilty of lying to Parliament and of misconduct for lying about having a degree.   

The ANC’s role
Though it’s not clear if the ANC played a role in Tshabalala’s resignation, the ruling party’s ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in September 2014 took a decision to urge Tshabalala to stop fighting and go.

“The chairperson of the SABC board should be asked to resign,” read minutes of the NEC meeting that the M&G has seen. “The ANC should be seen to play a positive role to save and support the SABC”.

Campaign against her
Tshabalala cited a “business interest” to be the reason why there was a “campaign to get rid of me”. 

Tshabalala believes her troubles started under the former communications minister Yunis Carrim who was “dictating how to run the SABC” and “pushing a deal, which would paralyse the SABC”. 

She wouldn’t elaborate what deal it was only saying she would reveal it all at a court appeal she is expected to launch soon.   

Tshabalala also insisted that she qualified from Unisa in 1996 and that her results presented to Parliament was not hers. “It was somebody else’s results. It is not mine,” she said. – Sapa