Gagged and bound
When the FM spoke to Mpofu shortly after his appointment last year, he expressed determination to fight for his independence from board interference. He is losing that battle and, in the process, destroying his own reputation.
“When I was interviewed I made it clear I would act independently,” Mpofu said at the time. “So if the board did not want somebody who was independent, it would not have hired me.”
But for the second time in a year, Mpofu has come out in defence of the SABC’s head of news and current affairs, Snuki Zikalala, for apparently disregarding the mandate of the public broadcaster to provide fair and balanced coverage.
Mpofu’s defence of Zikalala — this time in the wake of the blacklisting scandal — is probably against his better judgment. However, if he were to tackle Zikalala, Mpofu would be the one likely to come off second best. Zikalala enjoys strong support from the board and particularly from chairman Eddie Funde and deputy chair Christine Qunta. All three seem to believe that a critical mandate of the SABC is to protect and advance the interests of the ruling ANC.
For Mpofu, this has meant he has had to resort to two commissions of inquiry since he took over the reins.
The first commission, last year, investigated why the SABC’s main TV news bulletins did not cover a “booing” incident involving supporters of ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma at a function addressed by deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Zikalala and his team were cleared of any wrongdoing.
Last week, Zikalala come under attack again for banning commentators believed to be critical of government and President Thabo Mbeki. Despite being fingered by the commission, led by former SABC CEO Zwelakhe Sisulu, as being a key player in the banning of political analysts, Zikalala is unlikely to face any action.
Mpofu’s hands are tied by the board’s statement, which voices support for Zikalala. This flies in the face of Mpofu’s earlier statements that “heads would roll” if someone was found to have contravened the SABC’s editorial policies. Mpofu had hoped to use the outcome of the Sisulu commission to deal a blow to Zikalala.
As one source says, the findings of the Sisulu commission presented Mpofu with strong evidence to show that Zikalala deliberately infringed editorial policy. But Mpofu has instead committed hara-kiri, and made one fatal error. He didn’t get his board on side before appointing the commission.
Though the commission found Zikalala guilty as charged, the board balked, and refused to release the report. Mpofu went out to defend Zikalala and in the process misled the public by suggesting that the commission had exonerated Zikalala. Any superficial reading of the commission’s report leaves no doubt about its findings.
The no-action stance also deals a heavy blow to what was left of Mpofu’s reputation as the public broadcaster’s editor-in-chief, given that he had no broadcast or journalism experience to begin with. Nothing commended him to Africa’s most powerful media position.
He was always going to be up against it. Zikalala had already seen off Peter Matlare, Mpofu’s predecessor. He had been brought back from government by the SABC board to head the news division against Matlare’s wishes.
Nothing prepared Mpofu for the snakepit that is the SABC and he has now been hung out to dry, his credibility shattered.
If Mpofu is to continue working for the SABC, it’s not likely to be the last time that he will have to backtrack on his commitments.
Inet-Bridge
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