The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board has again denied putting pressure on chief executive Peter Matlare to resign and disputed that there is a rift between him and the head of news, chairperson Eddie Funde said on Wednesday.
”The board again dismissed as baseless, unwarranted and mischievous weekend media claims that the board of the SABC had told CEO Peter Matlare to resign, and that there was conflict between the CEO and the managing director of news, Snuki Zikalala,” Funde said in a statement.
He was responding to reports that Matlare is being forced out, following the high-level resignations of SABC1 head Romeo Kumalo, television news editor Charles Leonard and Vasu Moodley, general manager of logistics for broadcasting.
Although Funde denied the allegations in an SABC statement on Monday, the broadcaster issued another statement after considering the matter at its quarterly board meeting in Durban on Wednesday.
Funde said: ”While we accept that public broadcasting is an area of contestation, we reject with contempt sloppy journalism.
”It is our view that these blatant lies are aimed at undermining the progress made and role of the public broadcaster in building our democracy and our nation, and is part of a more systematic effort to project the SABC as a lackey of the government and a mere state broadcaster.”
The appointment of Zikalala, previously an African National Congress spokesperson, has been criticised as an attempt to turn SABC news into an ANC mouthpiece.
Funde also accused mischief-makers of lying to benefit SABC’s competitors.
”By inventing and creating a fictitious image of turmoil at the SABC our competitors can make commercial gains,” he said.
The statement said the board has ”unequivocal confidence in the CEO, the MD News, the rest of the executive team and staff”.
The board will also seek redress for the media attacks, while improving its efforts to retain staff.
”As the board and the executive we will redouble our efforts to retain our highly valued staff, and in the process, endeavour to make all of our divisions, and especially our news division, preferred places of employment.”
Funde said although the SABC has lost staff recently, these losses are ”infinitesimal when compared with those of a number of media houses”.
The chairperson also denied that he has ordered a ”clean-up” at the SABC.
”During the course of implementing risk management plans and in pursuit of good governance it is a fundamental role of governing boards to conduct investigations from time to time.
”That such investigations may be under way should at this stage be no cause for public concern, particularly since these have not been concluded,” he said. — Sapa