Speaker, the cancellation, late last night, of the meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Communications that was scheduled for this morning cannot be ignored. The reason advanced was that documents were not tabled on time.
However, some of us know better. It is because the SABC board is again facing a huge crisis. In fact, the entire Communications portfolio, under Minister Dina Pule, is in total disarray, mainly as a result of the meddling in the affairs of the Department of Communications by Lutuli House, or is it Tuynhuys?
Who benefits most from a dysfunctional SABC, where good governance practices are flouted with impunity? Only the ruling party and their inner circle, including the Gupta family, who will now run the 24-hour news channel after the SABC could not convince the Minister of Finance that they had the money and the people to do so.
Six board members have so far resigned since 2010 and only one of the three executive positions was filled. It is evident that the time has come for the SABC to be placed under administration. Cope is calling for that because the endemic problems cannot be resolved with a cut-and-paste approach. The pussyfooting of this Parliament and the Portfolio Committee on Communications over the past two years shows that very clearly.
We need to bring in broadcasting and management professionals, not puppets of Luthuli House. They should restore the professional ethics and management structures of the once proud public broadcaster. I thank you.