Madam Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to table the committee report, recommending 12 persons for appointment as nonexecutive members to the board of the SABC. The persons being recommended to the President for appointment are: Cedric Gina, Desmond Golding, Philippa Green, Peter Harris, Barbara Masekela, Anthony Mello, Clifford Motsepe, Dr Ben Ngubane, David Niddrie, Clare Frances O'Neil, Felleng Sekha and Ms Suzanne Vos.
These persons were selected from a broadly representative and inclusive list of over 230 nominees, 30 of whom were eventually interviewed. In finally selecting the 12 candidates, the committee was mindful of the criteria set out in the Broadcasting Act. We needed to ensure that those who have been selected had suitable academic qualifications and experience and expertise in the fields of broadcasting policy and technology; broadcasting regulation; media law; business practice and finance; marketing; journalism; entertainment and education; and social and labour issues.
The committee believes that the nominees, viewed collectively, possess the requisite skills, expertise and competence to provide proper and effective leadership of the public broadcaster, whose corporate image has been severely damaged over the past two years. This report, it is hoped, will bring closure to a sad chapter in the history of the SABC.
Hon members will remember that the SABC was gripped by a severe crisis, the symptoms of which were a loss of over R1 billion in the last financial year; a breakdown in effective corporate governance; a lack of common purpose and cohesion among former members of the board and the executive management, which impaired their ability to carry out their statutory fiduciary duties; and serious lapses in sound operational management of the SABC by the executive management.
As a result, we, as the committee, decided after a public inquiry to dissolve the SABC board and to appoint an interim board for a period not exceeding six months. The committee is decidedly impressed by the performance of the interim board. Within a short period of time, it has stabilised corporate governance at the corporation, resolved the legal dispute with the former group chief executive officer, resulting in his exit from the company, taken short-term measures to deal with the financial crisis, reached a salary settlement with labour unions, and it has taken the necessary steps to fill vacancies at the executive management level.
I'm also duty-bound to report on the investigation of the Auditor-General into alleged misconduct and financial irregularities at the SABC. The Auditor-General found between September 2007 and June 2009, firstly, that the organisational culture that prevailed at the SABC showed a complete disregard for the prescripts of the corporation's procurement and tender policy and of National Treasury regulations. Secondly, there appeared to be numerous cases of conflict of interest by SABC staff members doing business with the corporation. Thirdly, there were selected examples of alleged gross abuse of benefits, such as petrol cards, by senior executive managers. Finally, there was a gradual breakdown in the lines of accountability and proper financial reporting.
Underlying these specific problems, the committee observed, are significant deficiencies in supply-chain management, numerous incidents of fruitless, wasteful and irregular expenditure, and an ineffective human resource management system. The committee has called upon the interim board to take proactive steps to institute disciplinary action, including criminal prosecution if necessary, against SABC employees who may have defrauded the corporation or were engaged in irregular conduct. I am reliably informed that, in the next few days, the interim board will be announcing what action it will be taking against staff members who are alleged to have breached company policy or the law.
All in all then - don't speak too soon - it does seem that the SABC is overcoming its worst nightmare. A foundation has been laid by the interim board for a turnaround strategy for the SABC. What we now need to do is to look to the future. The first thing is to ensure a smooth transition from the interim board to the new board that will be constituted by the President.
The SABC must also develop a new and sustainable financial model. The Ministry of Communications has also issued a discussion paper on the public broadcaster, which will be finalised in the near future. As a consequence, the Broadcasting Act will have to be reviewed and possibly amended.
I trust that the House will approve the nominations this afternoon. I am aware that some of the opposition parties are not fully supportive of all the nominees. That is understandable, but I do think that, as Parliament, it will be important to demonstrate full support for the new board.