Speaker, I am pleased to table the committee's report, recommending the names of five persons for the interim board of the SABC. At the outset, I must state that in selecting the five candidates we were entering uncharted waters. There are no clear-cut rules that could guide the process, and there is also no parliamentary precedent for this exercise.
Today we are likely to hear from the DA, arguing that the process to select the members of the interim board of the SABC was rushed and that, as the Official Opposition, their candidate was ignored. We might even hear them saying that the ANC had finalised the names months ago, or that the ANC is to rename Auckland Park "Polokwane Park". [Interjections.]
Order, order! Allow the speaker to be heard. You can continue.
Nothing can be further from the truth. The DA members on the committee were wholly unprepared for this process. [Interjections.] They were divided amongst themselves, with the hon Van den Berg championing one name and the hon Mazibuko another. In fact, it was the ANC that advised them to caucus among themselves so that they could come up with a unified list of candidates. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
The ANC was clear from the beginning: We did not want to politicise the process of selecting members for the interim board. We thought it inexpedient to make political appointments. [Interjections.] Instead, we looked for eminent personalities with a combination of sound corporate management, and financial, legal and media skills.
The committee received proposals of very strong candidates for the interim board. It spent over four hours trying to reach consensus on five candidates. I am pleased to report that initially all the political parties on the committee were able to agree on the names of four of the five candidates. These were Ms Irene Charnley, Ms Libby Lloyd, Adv Leslie Sedibe, and a former member of this House, Ms Suzanne Vos.
It is a real pity that we had to divide the committee on the names of Prof Phillip Mtimkulu and Prof Mamphela Ramphele, as both are highly regarded academics with impeccable credentials. In the end, the committee voted in favour of Prof Mtimkulu.
Of course, we were forced to.
Yesterday ... [Interjections.] No, no, listen. Yesterday the Minister of Science and Technology announced that Prof Ramphele has been appointed as the chairperson of the Technology Innovation Agency board. I hope that it will now be clear to the opposition parties why the ANC thought it imprudent to appoint Prof Ramphele to the interim board of the SABC. [Interjections.]
The Broadcasting Act requires the NA to recommend to the President the names of two persons who could serve as the chairperson and the deputy chairperson of the interim board. The committee is pleased to suggest that the names of Ms Irene Charnley and Prof Mtimkulu be considered for the positions of chairperson and deputy chairperson respectively. If these recommendations are supported by the House today, they will be appointed by the President for a period not exceeding six months.
The ANC has noted Cosatu's concerns about the composition of the interim board. We agree with the view that the board must be broadly representative of society as a whole, including the wider labour movement. The ANC wishes to reassure Cosatu and other stakeholders in civil society that the processes for the selection and appointment of the permanent board will be transparent and inclusive.
We take this opportunity to announce that the invitation calling for nominations for the permanent board will be issued later this week. The closing date for such nominations will be 31 July 2009. The committee calls upon all interested parties throughout the country to participate in the process.
We trust that the interim board, which we will recommend for appointment today, will help to stabilise the operations of the SABC and to restore a measure of proper corporate governance over the corporation. The task confronting this interim board is, to say the least, quite daunting, but we are certain that the five candidates being recommended will rise to the challenge.
In the end, we hope that the drastic step taken by this House to dissolve the SABC board and to replace it with an interim board will contribute towards enhancing public confidence in both Parliament as an institution, and the SABC. The public must know that its elected representatives will act when things go wrong. Parliament will not fold its arms and look the other way. I recommend the names to the House. Thank you very much.