Interim SABC board starts off strong
Irene Charnley, the interim chair of the board, told the committee: “Preferably within four months”. She explained that a permanent board must be in position to take over from them as soon as possible.
Among their objectives will be to stabilise the corporation by resolving the current wage dispute and impending strike, resolving the dispute with the former group chief executive, filling key vacancies including the head of news, and, she added when questioned, filling the posts currently occupied by acting executives.
Crucially she said the board has to decrease costs and increase revenue.
She said the board has to institute plans for paying critical debts. And she appealed for help from the committee in getting government organs to pay their debts to the corporation.
She declined to be specific when questioned by Nicky van den Berg of the Democratic Alliance about which departments were not paying the SABC what they owed.
Charnley a former chief negotiator for the National Union of Mineworkers and now a director of MTN, of FirstRand Bank and of Johnnic and Johnnic Communications, also told the committee that the SABC board is cooperating with a forensic investigation being conducted by the auditor general, including allegations made by organised labour – although the unions have officially distanced themselves from the allegations.
In the ten days since their appointments were signed, the interim board has met the Minister of Communications, General Simphiwe Nyanda, the unions, the former group chief executive, and all the other group executives.
They have explained to the unions that though then previous board made an offer of 8.5% which was upped by 1.5% by management before the interim board was appointed, they now have to find out there the new money was to come from. They have promised to meet the unions again on July 31 with the aim of settling the matter.
Charnley told the committee that at the executives’ meeting all of them agreed on clear and measurable deliverables for the next quarter, focusing on stabilisation, increasing revenue and cutting costs. “These are to be monitored fortnightly with clear accountability of each executive,” she said.
Ismail Vadi the committee chairman told her that he approved of the fact that the entire board flew to Cape Town in economy seats, and were not met by a limousine at the airport but rather a taxi from Gugulethu.
New SABC board – do you think they will make a difference?
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