Sechaba ka’Nkosi
A new row among senior managers has hit the SABC following recent appointments and new vacancies created in the corporation’s radio news section.
The radio battle comes after the former head of the division and now deputy chief executive Govin Reddy launched a public challenge against the appointment of the Reverend Hawu Mbatha as a successor to outgoing SABC chief executive Zwelakhe Sisulu.
Mbatha’s appointment and the latest developments at radio news have sparked fears that heads could roll as the group executive intensifies its crackdown on employees perceived to be obstacles to the transformation programme launched four years ago.
The recent creation of a position that saw the appointment of TV journalist Snuki Zikalala as deputy editor-in-chief in the radio division is seen as the first step in restructuring senior management at radio’s public-broadcasting services.
The official explanation to staff was that Zikalala’s main responsibility will be the establishment of a single news operation for radio and television ahead of the general elections next year.
However, his job description is strikingly similar to that of the division’s national news and current affairs editor, Franz Kruger. Insiders interpret this as an indication that the group is not happy with the way in which Kruger, editor-in-chief Barney Mthombothi and managing editor Alwyn Kloppers have handled transformation in the radio division.
Days after Zikalala’s appointment, an advertisement for a general manager for radio news appeared in an internal memorandum. The job description includes the duties currently performed by Kloppers.
According to sources, Zikalala’s appointment has renewed fears that Kruger might be on his way out.
Kruger, Mthombothi and Kloppers made their opposition to the appointment public even before Zikalala assumed his duties at the division. They are understood to have tried to mobilise opposition from producers, senior journalists, producers, and news and regional editors throughout the country.
After this failed, Kruger – with the support of the other two – launched a grievance procedure contesting the new position. He lost this battle, apparently because SABC management had adhered to its internal employment procedures and industrial relations law.
Zikalala’s appointment comes at a time of growing resentment among other stations at the way in which SABC’s flagship SAfm has been given preferential treatment in, among other things, its superior facilities and staffing.
There is also growing frustration among black journalists and producers because, while affirmative action targets have been met in the newsroom, middle management has remained unchanged.
Black staffers and white stations that feel neglected by the current management have ignored the calls for a campaign to oppose Zikalala’s appointment, and instead have rallied firmly around him.
It is understood that most staffers at the Afrikaans station Radio Sonder Grense banded together with their black colleagues to accept the developments and Zikalala’s appointment.
The group executive – and Sisulu in particular – are said to be resolute on the appointment, which they regard as an important step in facilitating further transformation at radio news.