An interim five-member SABC board was approved by the National Assembly on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Its members are Zandile Tshabalala, Noluthando Gosa, Vusi Mavuso, Ronnie Lubisi and Iraj Abedian.<\/p>\n
The names were adopted by Parliament’s portfolio committee earlier on Tuesday, following nominations made by ANC whip Gregory Schneeman.<\/p>\n
The names, which will be sent to President Jacob Zuma to make the official appointments, were then presented to the full National Assembly for approval.<\/p>\n
Tshabala was the ANC’s choice for board chair.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the committee, Schneeman said Tshabalala had extensive experience in banking, strategic development, international business and investments.<\/p>\n
Gosa was nominated as deputy chair. This would now be her third stint as a board member.<\/p>\n
“She would bring with her extensive experience and understanding on the workings of the SABC,” Schneeman said.<\/p>\n
Mavuso is a former chair of the board of directors of Transparency International (South Africa) and served on the Public Service Commission, where he sat on the ethics committee.<\/p>\n
“He’s also had significant experience in dealing with issues of ethics, dealing with issues of corruption.”<\/p>\n
Lubisi is a chartered accountant, expected to bring his financial experience to the board.<\/p>\n
The ANC compromised with the opposition and withdrew the name of one of it’s nominees, and replaced him with the Congress of the People’s choice, economist Iraj Abedian.<\/p>\n
“He’s an economist and public finance management expert… a board member of the Development Bank of South Africa…” Cope MP Juli Killian told the committee.<\/p>\n
Killian conceded her party had not contacted Abedian to ask whether he would in fact accept nomination to serve on the board.<\/p>\n
Cope would not support the appointment of the other four interim board members.<\/p>\n
Both the Democratic Alliance and the Inkatha Freedom Party have rejected the list on the basis that it was too hastily constituted.<\/p>\n
The SABC board was officially dissolved by the National Assembly after the majority of the board resigned in the past few days.<\/p>\n
Before the disbanding, one of the last two remaining board members, Suzanne Vos, gave the committee her views on the events leading up to the resignations.<\/p>\n
She accused Communications Minister Dina Pule of interfering in the board’s operations.<\/p>\n
“At the heart of this crisis, if one can call it that, is the view, not only my own, I believe, that ministerial interference in board decision-making and the functioning of the SABC has become extremely problematic,” Vos said.<\/p>\n
She took aim at former board chair Ben Ngubane.<\/p>\n
“The singular, unilateral, decision-making of the chairman, Dr Ben Ngubane, has been previously brought to the attention of this committee of Parliament,” Vos told MPs.<\/p>\n
Addressing the committee earlier, Pule denied she was guilty of political interference, an allegation made by Vos and at least one other board member, Cedric Gina, who also recently resigned.<\/p>\n
“If I had interfered, some of the things at the board would not have happened… I wish I had interfered,” Pule said.<\/p>\n
Pule to blame for SABC board mess: board member<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n SABC: another one bites the dust<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n SABC board likely to be dissolved<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n