Business Day
*SABC board backs CEO on Molefe 'special leave'* *Trevor Neethling, Business Day, Johannesburg, 17 April 2012 *THE SABC board has backed CEO Lulama Mokhobo's decision to place its head of news, Phil Molefe, on special leave over his conduct, which has sparked a furore over editorial independence at the broadcaster.
Ms Mokhobo last week placed Mr Molefe on special leave "pending a meeting" with her, leading to media reports of alleged infringement by the CEO in the work of the news department for political reasons.
Board chairman Ben Ngubane said an intermediary, deputy board chairman, Thami ka Plaatjie, had been appointed to lead the reconciliation between the two executives. However, if the outcome was unsatisfactory, Dr Ngubane did not exclude the possibility of Mr Molefe's departure from the SABC.
This row is particularly concerning as the SABC is neck-deep in a turnaround strategy stemming from financial mismanagement that led to an R800m loss in 2008.
Dr Ngubane yesterday said the breakdown in relationship between Ms Mokhobo and Mr Molefe started when he lost out to her in the race for the position in January.
"It's understandable seeing that they had competed for the same job. To draw in the Malema issue and all those things was a total red herring. " He said there was no truth in the speculation that Ms Mokhobo had interfered in news content.
"This was something that was planted in the media to twist the whole situation. It has to do with the relationship between the head of news and herself. Restructuring is done unilaterally and many other things are happening excluding her when she should be included to make sure that the views of the board are taken into consideration," he said.
Mr Molefe last night said he had not yet received any communication from the board, nor was he aware of any decision that had been taken and therefore could not comment.
In a statement last night, the SABC board said it was fully behind Ms Mokhobo. The board expressed the view that "the group CEO was within her rights to place an executive on special leave in terms of the SABC's employment policies. She is also, in terms of the editorial policy, editor-in-chief and as such is finally accountable for the quality of news on our platforms."
Various weekend newspapers reported that Ms Mokhobo had made editorial content a priority in her first three months in charge.
The Sunday Independent published alleged communication between the two in which they argued over the news diary. The squabbles are seen by some as part of a wider African National Congress agenda of various factions within the party vying for control of the broadcaster's news content in order to influence delegates' perceptions and votes ahead of the Mangaung elective conference in December.
Kate Skinner, spokeswoman for public broadcasting watchdog SOS, said it hoped for a speedy resolution as management disputes were once again destabilising the broadcaster.
She said that while the CEO did enjoy power as editor-in-chief, ideally there should be a separation of powers. "We would like to see the CEO looking after financial and corporate issues and leaving the news to the editor-in-chief," she said.
The Communication Workers Union welcomed the board's action and said it hoped the matter would be resolved as soon as possible so the SABC could move on from it once the real reasons were put forward.
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