Ferial Haffajee
Tensions in the Midi TV consortium have come to a head because major shareholders vetoed an attempt by the board’s chair to secure a highly paid job at the station.
Nomazizi Mtshotshisa has lobbied hard to become full-time executive chair, with an annual salary of over R400 000.
Her efforts were shot down by Warner Brothers and Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI), two leading shareholders who believed the expense was unjustified at a channel which has not yet started broadcasting and didn’t budget for the added cost.
Mtshotshisa’s peeved supporters – who say Midi requires a black leader – are thought to be behind press leaks about the consortium which surfaced this week.
Mtshotshisa represents the Vula consortium, which owns about one-third of Midi. There were rumours this week that Vula was considering a pull-out from Midi because of rising tension. Mtshotshisa did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Boardroom differences at Midi have pitted trade unions against each other, in addition to the allegations of racism and claims about a bid for greater control by HCI.
This week the battles claimed their first casualty: news and current affairs director David Niddrie resigned in the fracas.
HCI is a holding company owned by clothing workers and miners, run by former trade unionists Marcel Golding and Johnny Copelyn. Their detractors charge the two have offered new funding terms to Midi’s minority shareholders in an effort to secure greater influence.
The TV station is expected to be a money-spinner after three years of operation. Financiers are queuing to fund Midi’s diverse shareholders, who must pay up on October 1. HCI has joined that queue, offering what it says is a better deal than others available to the consortium.
In addition to the big guns, the minority shareholders include youth groups, a few media companies and a trust of the disabled.
The Midi board has become divided into two distinct camps jockeying for the support of the minority shareholders. HCI, with its firm commercial bias, has thrown its weight behind the management team led by Jonathan Procter.
The company enjoys great influence because it pulled together the consortium and has put up all Midi’s start-up costs of R150-million. An HCI insider said: “We’re not interested in getting a bigger stake. All we’re looking for is the best talent to manage a commercial operation.”
Vula – a mixed consortium of civic organisations, trade unions, fashion designers and black business – leads the other camp, which this week charged that Midi was being dominated by a “cartel”. Although Vula holds as many shares as HCI, it lacks clout because it has contributed only R100 000 to Midi’s initial costs.
It accused management of “back- tracking, broken promises and broken trust”, and has complained the station’s management is “densely white”. It points out that in addition to Procter, who is the managing director, the heads of the technical, financial and human resources divisions are all white.
This camp, dominated by former “struggle” activists, wants greater workplace democracy and social responsibility at Midi. It is at odds with the hard-nosed business ethic prevailing at the station, and has pushed for Mtshotshisa’s appointment as executive chair so she can keep an eye on management.
A Vula supporter said this week: “At this rate, it [Midi] won’t deliver on its mandate of being different and truly South African.” A trade unionist allied to Vula said Golding and Copelyn are “rapacious capitalists [intent on] turning Midi into an Americanised free-to-air station”.
He added: “It’s the biggest media initiative since 1994, it needs a black leader. She [Mtshotshisa] had an office at Midi. She was doing things. She might as well be paid for it.” It is alleged Procter took Mtshotshisa’s office away from her.
Midi employees treat the spill-over of boardroom tension as an annoyance. They say Mtshotshisa’s office was taken away because she never used it. They allege that she often missed important meetings. With just over a month to go before the launch, they seem more occupied with settling into their Cape Town offices, putting up transmitters, selling advertising and commissioning programmes.
They discount accusations of white domination and point out that the power centres at the station are controlled by blacks. The heads of foreign acquisitions, local programming, news and current affairs, and audience research are all black.
Midi management said this week advertisers have already committed millions in adspend to e.tv, as the new station will be known. In a statement they said: “The South African public can look forward to receiving its new television channel as promised.”