Chairperson, the ANC proved yet again that it is a party that cannot be trusted, and voters in the coming elections must not be hoodwinked again with beautiful undertakings and false promises. [Interjections.] Cope believes that the whole process for the appointment of members to the SABC board was a scam. No matter how the ANC objects in the House today, the truth must prevail. For the past three to four years, some elements within the ruling alliance have become hellbent on taking control of the SABC. Whereas we, as a committee, agreed what the identified skills shortages were in the board, miraculously only one of the successful four candidates qualify in terms of those criteria. Excellent candidates on the shortlist of 14 were overlooked.
Notwithstanding the intention of the Broadcasting Act to prevent government influence on the SABC, the ANC's anxiety to take control of this process was clear right from the start. Why did the ANC not ever question the four resignations from the board? For any public broadcaster to lose four prominent board members of the calibre of Ms Barbara Masekela, Mr David Niddrie, Mr Makgatho Mello and Ms Felleng Sekha within a very short space of time signals that there is a problem. Why was the President in such a rush to accept these resignations with immediate effect? They could have served a three-month notice period.
The fact is that these persons tried in vain to alert the former Minister of Communications about political meddling in the affairs of the SABC board. And the President threw down the gauntlet with a subtle message to everybody: Nobody questions me or the ANC.
Of the four new board members, Cope can, unfortunately, only support one: the unanimously appointed Dr Makhesa. Cope has no issue with the other individuals per se, but we have a major issue with the abuse of the nomination process by elements in the ANC, and about how the ANC in the committee, as if per instruction, rammed the decision through.
Not surprisingly, serious concerns and questions raised by opposition members in the committee were carefully edited out on the SABC news channels, just like opposition parties and their messages are carefully edited out.
We are compelled to expose the deplorable manipulation of the nomination process by Luthuli House here today. Four nominations were made by one person, of whom two were successful and serve before the House.