Ferial Haffajee
The wife of the SABC editor who commissioned the soapie Avenues stars in the programme and had a leading role in its casting and scripting.
Penny Rodel also rents office space from A&P Productions, which makes the weekly soap. She used the name Penny Smith for this programme alone.
Pieter de Vos, the series producer, would not say whether she is a shareholder in the company.
SABC3’s commissioning editor, Clive Rodel, who authorised the coveted contract worth about R700 000, said this week he sees no conflict of interest in his wife’s close relationship with the production house. “It was all done in a very clean, transparent way.”
When A&P decided to cast his wife, it wrote a letter to Christa Joubert, SABC3’s former programming manager, asking for her permission to do so. She gave the nod.
Rodel added that his wife had done the casting and scripting work “purely as a favour” to De Vos and his partner, Jan Groenewald. The two have in the past used her services as a talent scout and agency.
SABC3 channel head Theo Erasmus said: “We are looking into the situation of Penny and Clive. But we must remember she is a businesswoman in her own right.” Erasmus said he was happy with the way the potential conflict of interest created by the Rodel couple had been handled.
The final decision to accept the Avenues pitch had been made by the SABC3 management committee, not by Rodel alone.
Avenues has been maligned as a third- rate production. Not in a long time has a television programme generated comment so vehement – and on Monday August 10, the channel will put it to a viewership vote. An 083 number will be run throughout the broadcast to gauge viewer appreciation.
If many people give it the thumbs-down, it could be moved to a slot out of prime time – or it could be dropped altogether, at great financial loss to the SABC.