Ferial Haffajee
The controversy surrounding the top job in South African broadcasting continued this week, with indications that the SABC board could face charges of unfair labour practice.
SABC deputy chief executive Govin Reddy, who did not get the position of chief executive, has levelled allegations of racism against the board.
This week the board’s chair, Professor Paulus Zulu, said race had played no part in the appointment last week of the Reverend Hawu Mbatha, whom he called ”the best candidate for the job. If the decision was made in that context, then Reddy would be included.” Zulu added he was surprised anybody was opposing the appointment.
By midweek he was still finalising the reasons for the appointment he must provide to Reddy in terms of the Labour Relations Act.
The Act provides protection for job applicants who have legitimate expectation of a promotion, or who have been verbally promised a job, or who have acted for a long time in the capacity of the position for which they apply.
For the past nine months, SABC minutes reflect that top executive meetings have been chaired by Reddy.
”One must look at the things that could give rise to the expectation. You can’t just suck it out of thin air,” says Richard de Villiers, of labour consultancy Andrew Levy and Associates.
He adds that all job applicants have a legal protection against unfair discrimination.
If the board and management had decided the SABC required an African manager, this should have been explained to Reddy, who may need to be compensated, says De Villiers. If Reddy’s case is not settled internally, it could go to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration as an unfair labour practice.
Zulu this week maintained that Mbatha is the best candidate because of his ”team- building capacity, his technical command of broadcasting, and his resilience and capacity to function under stressful conditions”. He was particularly impressed by the ”pivotal role” Mbatha had played in the late 1980s in resolving the storming of the SABC’s Ulundi studios by Inkatha leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
But inside and outside the SABC, the appointment of Mbatha took many by surprise.
Of little profile outside the corporation, Mbatha’s rise to prominence at the SABC has come only recently. It is understood the outgoing chief executive, Zwelakhe Sisulu, deliberated long and hard before appointing Mbatha to his post as chief executive of radio because it was felt he was not ready for that job.
The curriculum vitae he submitted after being asked to apply for the post seems hurriedly prepared and is out of kilter with the demands of the top job – it has no cover sheet or letter of motivation.
Questions have also been raised about how diligently the board applied its mind to the appointment.
The shortlist of four candidates (two internal and two external) was drawn up by a board subcommittee, and last week a full meeting had to make the final decision.
The board members who were not on the selection committee were only given the CVs of the candidates about 10 minutes before the meeting began. They were still unanimous in their appointment of Mbatha, said Zulu.