Mungo Soggot
THE suspended chief executive officer of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) miscalculated the organisation’s budget by nearly R6-million, forcing the IBA to close the door on its spendthrift ways.
Harris Gxaweni, who was suspended last month amid mismanagement allegations, told the IBA’s council earlier this year that there was still R2-million left in the organisation’s 1997 budget.
However, an independent audit ordered by Gxaweni’s stand-in successor, Bronwyn Keene-Young, has found that the IBA actually has a string of unpaid bills, pushing it R3,8-million into the red.
The IBA is now being forced to tap into its 1998 budget to pay the bills. The new budget, at R33-million, is already R9- million less than the IBA had requested from the Ministry of Communications.
Keene-Young said the authority now had to embark on a dramatic austerity programme to compensate for the overspending.
The austerity drive, officially unveiled this week, puts an end to much of the extravagance which led to a formal investigation by the auditor general and the recent resignation of five of the IBA’s seven councillors.
Much of the auditor general’s criticism centred on the authority’s failure to implement effective financial controls – for which Gxaweni is taking the blame.
He also employed underqualifed friends in key positions, including recruiting a finance head, Thandi Sodaba, who enjoyed only basic accounting qualifications but lived with Gxaweni in Johannesburg. Sodaba’s contract has been terminated.
Ironically, the immediate cause of Gxaweni’s departure – an expensive car scheme for senior managers – was dreamt up when the authority believed it still had R2-million to play with.
Keene-Young said there would be an immediate ban on study trips, overseas conferences, bosberaads and the use of expensive hotels for license hearings.
Keene-Young added that IBA staffers would now travel economy class and stay in three- star hotels, while all vacant posts – apart from key financial positions — would be frozen.
She said the authority’s budget had been running on about R2,7-million a month but that for the time being it would have to survive on a monthly budget of R2-million.
Keene-Young said the “cash crisis” would hit its regulation activities, including the licensing of the new television channel. She said the authority planned to negotiate a bigger budget with the communications department.
The IBA’s decision to cut costs follows Keene-Young’s decision to employ accounting firm Deloitte & Touche to restructure the authority’s financial systems.
Gxaweni, who has still to appear before a formal disciplinary hearing, was unavailable for comment.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary communications committee last week unveiled nominations for replacement IBA councillors. It recommended that 29-year-old former councillor Felleng Sekha – who resigned after the auditor general’s report despite the fact she was not implicated in any of the controversy – become chair.
The nominations have yet to be approved by President Nelson Mandela, but his office indicated this week that such approval was likely to be merely a formality.