The SABC will always be a contested terrain subjected to external pressure from sections of the public. These may be political bodies, commercial interests, sports bodies, cultural groups, trade unions et cetera.
It would be surprising if this were not so. What is important is not the fact that such pressure is exerted, but whether or not the SABC is susceptible to buckle under it or to withstand it. Apart from the courage and integrity of its leadership, the greatest survival tool for the SABC is to adhere and stay true to accepted policies and codes which must be applied in situation, whomsoever is involved.
If ever the charge of political bias on the part of the SABC can be proven or sustained, the perpetrators would have to be rooted out as enemies of democracy and the people of South Africa.
The role of the SABC is to provide the public with fair, accurate, balanced and relevant information without which members of the public would be unable to make informed choices.
We wish to emphasise that at no stage was any pressure, political or otherwise exerted on our editorial or legal staff. These are professionals who make these kinds of decisions by the dozen a day. To date not a single soul has provided any basis upon which the alleged political conspiracy is based.
Throughout this episode the conduct of the SABC, which commissioned this documentary in the first place and which deliberately and voluntarily included President Mbeki in this hard-hitting series, has behaved in a manner that sought to salvage the documentary. Even after the unavoidable withdrawal, which we regret, our aim was to renegotiate and reschedule.
Due to the behaviour of the producers, who have seen fit to conduct a media campaign aided and abetted by right-wing organisations and some like-minded fellow travellers, as well as the post-withdrawal opinion of our external attorneys, junior and senior counsel, the matter is now more complicated and the SABC will have to take a fresh decision as to the fate of the documentary.
This is an edited statement by Mpofu, CE of the SABC, on the canned documentary of Thabo Mbeki meant to have screened as part of the Unauthorised series on SABC 3.