Mnr die Speaker, Adjunkpresident, Ministers en agb lede van die Parlement ... [Mr Speaker, Deputy President, Ministers and hon Members of Parliament ...] ... today is a sad day in our democracy. It is a sound example that the ANC cannot govern this country. [Applause.]
Dit is die DA se standpunt van meet af aan dat die vakatures op die raad gevul moes word. Dit kon nie verwesenlik word nie, want die raad het gedisintegreer. Net een lid het oorgebly, naamlik prof Alison Gillwald. Daarop kan u vra: S wie? (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[From the outset, the DA is of the opinion that the vacancies on the board should have been filled. This could not be realised, since the board disintegrated. Only one member remained, namely Prof Alison Gillwald. In reaction to this, one could ask: Says who?]
At the last meeting with the SABC board one of the members asked that the portfolio committee should dissolve the board.
Die DA stel dit duidelik dat die ANC-beheerde Portefeuljekomitee oor Kommunikasie doelbewus water getrap het om die tyd te laat verbyglip. [The DA wants to state clearly that the ANC-controlled Portfolio Committee on Communications intentionally engaged in delaying strategies to waste time.]
We all know that the financial and managerial fiasco did not start yesterday. If the political will existed within the ANC, they could have done a lot more months ago. There was no political will because it was pre- Polokwane. [Interjections.] After Polokwane it was easier for the ANC, spearheaded by the hon Mr Ismail Vadi, to get rid of the SABC board.
Ek moet dit duidelik aan die Huis stel, en ek stel dit namens die DA, dat mnr Vadi sy rol as voorsitter misbruik het, of so het dit geblyk. Hy het onnodig op lede van die raad gepik. Ek kan glo dat hulle tereg ongelukkig voel, veral me Qunta. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[On behalf of the DA, I have to clearly state to the House that Mr Vadi abused his position as chairperson, or this appeared to be the case. He picked on members of the board without good reason. I believe they have the right to feel unhappy, especially Ms Qunta.]
The ANC's main objective was to keep their hands clean, a bunch of beautiful little innocent angels. They actually horizontalised the perpendicularity of respected people chosen to be board members. [Laughter.] Parliament wants to know: Did they jump, or were they pushed? And this is a question I want answered. Or maybe it wasn't in the ANC's interest that so many board members decided they could not go any further with an ANC-driven Portfolio Committee on Communications.
The dissolving of the board won't solve the SABC's problems. The board must accept collective responsibility for the state of chaos in the national broadcaster. The executive of the SABC is also guilty. They are masters at not making decisions. I know this because I was there for 27 years. [Interjections.] [Applause.] I knew my predecessor, the hon Dene Smuts, worked very hard to solve these problems. But what can you expect from the power-hungry ANC and its obsession to control and manipulate? [Interjections.]
Now, the road forward: If the ANC is really there for the people, it will show ... [Interjections.]