The blame for costly legal proceedings and the settlement paid out to former South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) CEO Dali Mpofu must be firmly placed on the shoulders of the former SABC board, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Monday.
Such expenditure was ”highly regrettable” at a time when the SABC expected to lose R1-billion in the 2008/09 financial year, the trade union federation said in a statement.
It also named the former SABC board, chaired by Kanyi Mkhonza, as the culprit. The board had been ”illegitimately appointed and was guilty of gross mismanagement”.
Parts of Mpofu’s payment include R6,7-million for the remainder of his contract with the broadcaster, plus an additional R900 000, which was legally due to him.
This is in addition to the R2,1-million legal fees incurred by the corporation.
Mpofu could not be blamed for exercising his rights under the Constitution and the labour laws.
The present interim board should be commended for resolving a difficult situation ”which was none of their own making”.
Cosatu said it intended campaigning for the appointment of a new permanent board, which would be ”truly representative”, able to reverse financial losses and forge ahead with creating a public broadcaster that genuinely spoke for the country’s people.–Sapa