Hon Speaker, the response is that board members of all the entities or companies that report to the Department of Communications and senior officials in the department are subjected to background checks prior to their appointment. Senior officials are also vetted for security purposes prior to confirmation and appointment. Thank you very much, hon Speaker.
Hon Speaker, we believe that the Minister carries an onerous responsibility and we hear what she has said, that background checks are conducted.
Can we therefore have a better explanation of how it came about that Ms Pumla Radebe was appointed as the chairperson of the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA, Usaasa, knowing that she left Pikitup and the Johannesburg City Council after a forensic audit revealed tender irregularities in excess of R300 million?
Secondly, how did the hon Minister come to appoint Mr Reuben Mohlaloga as Independent Communications Authority of SA, Icasa, councillor while he is currently under investigation by the Land Bank for financial misconduct and despite the opposition's concerns about his unsuitability for the position?
We believe that these institutions really demand that the people who lead have exemplary, squeaky-clean, governance backgrounds. Just with my mentioning these two instances, it seems that the hon Minister and the entities which report to her have really not done the background checks. [Time expired.] Thank you.
Hon Speaker, Reuben Mohlaloga he was recommended by the Portfolio Committee on Communications to the Minister to be appointed as the Icasa councillor. The hon member is part of that portfolio committee and we believe that she was part of the processes and she should have known.
However, we did check on him. We believe that in terms of the Constitution of South Africa anyone is deemed innocent until proven otherwise. We had heard about this and we believed that Mr Mohlaloga had not been found guilty of any wrongdoing. That is why we appointed him as a member of the Icasa council. With regard to Pumla Radebe, again the department did a background check and we found that there was nothing against her as a person in regard to what the hon member referred to.
Speaker, South Africa's Public Service needs fewer politically connected cronies in executive positions, not more. Hon Minister, in your 18 months in office you and those close to you have gained the reputation of influencing the choice of incumbents in board and executive positions in a number of entities reporting to your department. The Usaasa appointments are just the latest to surface.
The person you inserted into the shortlist for the position of chief financial officer of the SABC, and who you chose to fill the post, is now suspended and is being investigated for procurement irregularities. She was in the job for less than a year! One of the tasks she completed in her short tenure was the approval of R3 million in cash and publicity for your ICT indaba, an action for which she did not have the necessary executive management committee approval.
The SAPS is investigating whether appointments to the SA Post Office, Sentech and other entities were the result of corrupt processes influenced by your cronies who are out of reach of accountability to Parliament.
Now, Minister, you want to have more say over the board appointments to the beleaguered SABC. This at a time when years of political meddling by you and your predecessors are taking their toll on the public broadcaster. Why, Minister, will you not legislate that board and council appointments ... [Time expired.] ... of the entities actually are appointed by Parliament in a transparent and open process?
Hon Speaker, I believe that if the hon member had looked at the Act governing broadcasting and how appointments in entities and, in particular to the SA Broadcasting Corporation, are made, she wouldn't have been asking me this question.
However, hon Speaker, I think I should help her and say that the appointments of all the executives at all the entities or companies that report to the Department of Communications are made by the board members, and not by the Minister. This includes the appointment of the board members of all the entities. The recruitment advertisements are posted in newspapers or in media houses and the people of South Africa have an opportunity to nominate people that they think can sit on those boards. We have a selection committee that selects the members who qualify. All members that are sitting on the SA Post Office board sit there on merit.
With regard to the SABC issue, probably the hon member is no longer a member of the Portfolio Committee on Communications because, if she were, she would remember that before all the board members at the SABC are appointed, they are actually interviewed by the portfolio committee here in Parliament, on which the Minister does not even sit. They later make a recommendation to the President, and the President delegates the matter to the Minister in order for her to appoint those board members. The board members, as I have said, are actually interviewed by the portfolio committee, to which the member belongs. Thank you very much, hon Speaker. [Interjections.]
Order, hon members! Order!
Hon Speaker, my question to the hon Minister is based on the fact that even if people say that there are boards and all those things, it is easy for political interference to take place.
There is a specific allegation that has been made about the Minister. The allegation is that her boyfriend is the one who decides who must be appointed to the SABC. Can the hon Minister stand here and say that that is not true?
Speaker, on a point of order: This matter is before a committee of Parliament. Now the hon member is anticipating the findings of that committee. [Interjections.]
Order, hon members! Order! Order! The hon Chief Whip is correct. Yes, you know that, too. [Interjections.] Order, hon members! Order!
Hon Speaker, Minister, in your 2013 budget speech you said, and I quote:
Having a stable and capable leadership team that has integrity is crucial in our endeavour to improve the service delivery goals of our department and our portfolio of state-owned entities. A stable leadership is crucial to achieving good corporate governance and accountability.
Can the Minister elaborate on strengthening the leadership capability in the department and its entities, and the appointment of critical skills? Thank you, hon Speaker.
Hon Speaker, it is true that in the department we are working very hard to make sure that we deal with the issue of governance principles, and making sure that the board members in all entities that report to the department adhere to the governance principles.
Right at the moment we are reviewing our policies to make sure that they are aligned with the situation as ICT grows on a daily basis. We have recognised the challenges that we have had before, for example at the SABC, and we as a department are now proposing amendments to the Act governing broadcasting because of the challenges that we have faced before.
Regarding the challenges that we have faced at Icasa, we are actually proposing amendments, which have already gone through the Cabinet process, and later they will come to Parliament. We are doing our best to make sure that our entities operate in an environment that is able to help the country to deliver its services to the people of South Africa. Thank you very much, hon Speaker.
Government policy iro administrative prices on rail, ports and power
140. Prof B Turok (ANC) asked the Minister of Public Enterprises:
1) What is the Government's policy in respect of administrative prices on rail, ports and power;
(2) whether these prices favour export commodities or manufactured goods; if not, why not, in each case; if so, in each case, (a) which commodities and goods and (b) what are the further relevant details;
(3) whether state-owned enterprises like Transnet, Eskom, and the National Ports Authority are expected to (a) generate a profit over and above their need to build legitimate reserves or (b) break even; if not, in each case, what is the position in this regard;
(4) what mechanisms are in place to ensure that prices of services are reviewed to confirm that these state-owned enterprises are acting as catalysts to unlock economic development?