DA condemns Minister Ndabeni- Abrahams’s actions of censoring journalists

Please find attached a soundbite by the DA Shadow Minister of Communications, Phumzile Van Damme MP.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is not surprised by reports that Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni – Abrahams blocked journalists from covering protests at an African National Congress (ANC) manifesto launch in the Eastern Cape. It is what the ANC has done for years, only this time the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) took a stand to enforce its independence and expose Ndabeni-Abrahams, and for that, we congratulate the SABC.

The manifesto proceedings were reportedly disrupted by singing demonstrators who are allegedly frustrated by a lack of service delivery in their area.

Minister Ndabeni- Abrahams blocked an SABC crew from filming protesters who were raising their dissatisfaction with her party’s failures.

This attempted act of censorship by the Communications Minister is against the constitutional values of freedom of the press. The DA stands by and supports the freedom of the press which is enshrined in our Constitution.

The Minister’s actions are no different from previous ANC Ministers who have sought to control the SABC through political interference. Her act is not a once off or a mistake, she was simply doing what the ANC has been doing for years, and were allowed to by captured SABC management and boards. We applaud the SABC for taking a firm stand and encourage it to report any attempts of persecution by the ANC for simply doing what is required of the SABC as an independent public broadcaster, not ANC mouthpiece.

At centre of the SABC’s problems is political interference, this combined with the deliberate delay in beginning the process of appointing a new board, speaks to their intentions to once again control the SABC. We note that in the latest Z-list (Parliament’s list of scheduled meetings), no Communications Committee meetings have been scheduled, yet another delaying tactic by the ANC.

The ANC would prefer an interim board be appointed with cadres who would be at their beck and call. This may come as news to the ANC, but to appoint an interim board would require the removal of the current one, by inquiry. There are no grounds for a dissolution, so no interim board can be appointed.

The DA will not be party to the ANC’s dereliction of their constitutionalist duty as elected public representatives, and will use all avenues available to ensure that a full permanent board is appointed, even if it means the Communications Portfolio Committee works after Parliament has risen, and a Special Sitting is called to approve the names of candidates recommended to serve on the SABC board.

The role of the media can never be understated, it can play an important role in the advancement of democratic values by informing citizens of the issues that affect them on a daily basis. The DA believes that this acts of censorship by the communication minister must be reprimanded by all who believe in a free, open and fair society.

The Minister can’t tell the SABC what to do

Please find attached a soundbite in English by DA Shadow Minister of Communications, Phumzile Van Damme MP

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is in possession of a letter to the SABC board Chairperson, Bongumusa Makhathini, by the new Communications Minister, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, and its contents are cause for serious concern.

At first instance, while the Communications Minister does indeed have an oversight role over the SABC, she does not, however, have the power to give instructions to the board. The fact that she has decided to “desist from all engagements with the SABC board” because it refused to take her instruction to halt retrenchments is puerile and in violation of the SABC’s independence.

Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams must continue discharge of her oversight role as shareholder and cannot decide not to do so because the board will not take her instructions and “…is no longer acting in the interests of the company, shareholder, and Parliament…” as stated in her letter. If she is not up to the task, she is welcome to resign.

The current SABC board has done well to enforce its independence and stand up to political interference by former communications ministers and it is evident it is doing the same with the current one.

That being said, the SABC board reports to and is accountable to Parliament and has not covered itself in glory regarding its proposed plan to retrench 2200 staff.

The DA has consistently said that the board must conduct an independent skills and salary audit before considering retrenchments, a view that was shared by the rest of the Communications Portfolio Committee when the board appeared before it last week. The committee also requested that the board present a clear strategic plan that will see the board self-sustain by cutting costs and exploring new revenue streams and funding models. The board has thus far done neither.

The SABC has until January to present both the results of an independent skills and salary audit, as well as a clear strategic plan to Parliament or face the risk of being axed. In terms of Section 15A of the Broadcasting Act, Parliament can dissolve the SABC board for the inability to perform its duties “efficiently.”

The DA is not blind to the politics at play. The SABC board has been adamant about enforcing its independence and this is not a situation Luthuli House would be happy with going into an election.

It has in the past had the SABC under its control and made sure that the public broadcaster was its mouthpiece and portrayed the ANC in a positive light to the electorate. The dissolving of the current board would allow for Parliament to appoint an interim board which could quite likely be filled with ANC-friendly individuals who would be at Luthuli House’s beck and call.

The ball is ultimately in the SABC board’s court. It must in January not give the Communications Committee reason to dissolve it, by presenting the results of an independent skills and salary audit and a clear strategic plan.

The DA is serious about rebuilding the SABC, protecting its independence after years of financial mismanagement, corruption and political interference by the ANC. We are also serious about protecting SABC staff against unjust retrenchment, we will not allow SABC staff to lose their jobs without just cause. We wait for the SABC board and management to redeem itself, and we hope it will do so.

Government severely underspends on community media

In reply to a DA Parliamentary question, Communications Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, revealed that the Department of Communications (DOC) and its entities have only spent a mere R1.3 million on advertising in community media in the 2016/17 financial year.
In fact, it was only some of the DOC’s entities that spent money on advertising. The DOC itself, which had a R11.9 million budget for advertising purposes in 2016/17, did not spend a single cent on advertising in community media.
It is quite clear that Government has forgotten about the essential role community media plays in providing entertainment and education in communities that may not have access to the public broadcaster.
Government should be supporting community media and not stifle their voices. It is community radio stations and newspapers which empower our people and bring them to the centre of participating in the national debate.
Community radio is the most affordable and accessible communication technology available to many South Africans in rural communities.  It is an essential tool to assist in carrying the country forward.
Without advertising, community media will fail to make revenue and stay afloat – forcing them to close shop which only perpetuates the lack of diversity in voices and ideas in community media.
The DA believes that Government should adequately and sustainably fund community media. Underfunding or lack of funds will have a severe impact on the quality of programming and the development and retaining of skills.

As former Communications Minister confirms Multichoice allegations, ICASA & Parliament must act

Honourable Chairperson,
The DA will not be supporting this report, for one main reason, the Minister’s recommendation for the appointment of Rubben Mohlaloga as Chairperson of the Council of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA).
It is our belief that cadre deployment is one of the main causes of the problems facing state-owned entities, and with Mohlaloga having previously served as an MP for the ANC and a Deputy President of the ANCYL, he is just that.
We do hope that Mr Mohlaloga will prove us wrong, and will demonstrate leadership that will be independently-minded, and focused on taking ICASA to greater heights.
The biggest task facing Mr Mahlaloga will be an inquiry the DA has requested into payments made by Multichoice to ANN7 and the SABC.
Yesterday, the DA revealed SABC board minutes dated 6 June 2013 suggesting that Multichoice sought to pay the SABC R100 million a year for its 24-hour news channel in exchange for the public broadcaster’s political influence over digital migration.
This notion has since been confirmed by the former Minister of Communications, Yunus Carrim, who is quoted in the media today stating that: “…Multichoice was seeking to change government policy to serve its own interests”, and he “…felt it wrong for a private company to seek to buy government policy in this way so that it could retain its 98% dominance of the pay-TV sector”. 
This is very serious indeed, and ICASA must exercise the very broad powers the ICASA Act gives it to investigate this. It is ICASA’s duty, to take this matter up in the public interest, and in particular, on behalf of those who use the very little they earn to fork our subscription fees for DSTV. It cannot be that their hard-earned money is used by Multichoice for nefarious deeds.
In addition, it is important for us in Parliament to do the same.
The Communications Committee must discharge of its duty to conduct an inquiry into allegations of State Capture relating to the former Communications Minister, Faith Muthambi as it was requested by the Deputy Speaker.
We believe that in that inquiry the following people must be included in those summoned:

  • Former Communications Ministers, Faith Muthambi, Yunus Carrim and Dina Pule
  • Former CEO of Multichoice, Imtiaz Patel
  • Multichoice’s executive chairman, Nolo Letele
  • Naspers CEO, Bob van Dijk
  • Former SABC board Chairperson, Ellen Tshabalala; and
  • Former CEO Lulama Makhobo

We look forward to feedback from ICASA, and also, the Minister of Communications, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane who has thus far remained silent on the SABC and Multichoice matter, and indeed, her views about the encryption of set-top boxes. What will it be Minister? Encrypted or unencrypted?

37 Reports on corruption at the SABC awaiting action since 2014

The DA can reveal that the SABC Forensic Unit has issued 37 forensic reports on allegations ranging from fraud and corruption, to bribery and nepotism at the public broadcaster since May 2014. However, many of these findings still await corrective action from SABC management.
In a reply to a DA parliamentary question, Communications Minister, Ayanda Dlodlo, lists a number of alarming findings including SABC missing equipment, failure to disclose business interests, the irregular appointment of employees, procurement irregularities in tender processes, conflict of interest and various cases of fraud and corruption.
Some of the findings include, but are not limited to:

  • SABC Medscheme – 24 SABC employees colluded with a Clinical Psychologist to bill SABC Medscheme for fictitious consultations and in return, the Psychologist paid the employees a cash amount. This report was issued on 23 July 2014 and the implementation of the recommendations are still in progress as an additional 192 incidents have been identified.
  • Ukhozi FM Drama – Freelance actors submitted fictitious invoices in collusion with the Drama Producer. Action against the implicated actors and Producer is still in progress, despite the report being issued on the 3rd of June 2014.
  • Lotus FM Dramas – on 24 August 2015 a report was issued regarding allegations that the Drama Producer at Lotus FM signed and submitted tax invoices and timesheets on behalf of an independent contractor. The report found that the Producer’s husband is a freelance writer for the independent contractor which she failed to declare. The report recommended disciplinary action against the Producer, however, no action has been taken.
  • The General Manager: Channels – Failed to disclose his Business Interests in 2014 and is still awaiting action by management.
  • SABC Marketing Executive – In 2014, he had an undeclared interest in a company owned by his spouse, who took on the SABC as direct clients.

These reports show how deep corruption runs in the SABC. These findings and reports only scratch the surface of the misconduct happening at the public broadcaster.
It is now clear that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) should start with the mammoth task of addressing all the corruption in the SABC immediately. The SABC interim board Chairperson, Khanyisile Kweyama, indicated in Parliament last week that a request has been sent to the President to sign the proclamation for the SIU to investigate the SABC. The President is yet to sign and must do so immediately for the investigation to commence.
The SABC can only get back to its status as a world-class broadcaster once the rot of corruption is weeded out once and for all.

SABC CFO must be suspended for dubious multi-million contracts

We now have confirmation of dubious contracts signed off by the SABC’s top executives, including Acting CFO Audrey Raphela, in late December 2016.
Replies to DA parliamentary questions reveal that at least two dubious tenders were awarded by the SABC in late December 2016 while Parliament was conducting hearings during the SABC inquiry, namely:

  • A contract worth R5.1 million (R4.5 million excluding VAT) for the redesign of the SABC’s websites awarded to Infonomix without going to tender; and
  • A contract worth R7.3 million paid to Imagine Communications for an advertising management system, with an additional R 4.7 million over three years for “license fee and maintenance”. The contract with Imagine Communications was signed despite it being proven that the system was not suitable for the SABC, contributing to the R300 million loss in advertising revenue at the public broadcaster. It does not appear that this contract was put out to tender.

We await replies from Communications Minister, Ayanda Dlodlo about other contracts reportedly signed off in a rush in December by Raphela.
On the basis of these allegations of serious tender flouting, the SABC Acting CFO must be suspended pending an investigation into the awarding of these tenders, and pending a disciplinary inquiry.
In addition, the procedures relating to Raphela’s appointment as Acting CFO must be reviewed. She was appointed from outside the SABC in August 2016 into the acting CFO position. Normally, a person from inside an organisation is appointed into an acting position with the understanding he or she will return to their permanent position once the temporary allocating in the acting role is complete. It is alleged that Raphela was brought in by James Aguma into the CFO position, flouting the SABC’s HR procedures.
The DA is intent on cleaning up the rot at the SABC, and ensuring that those individuals responsible, are held accountable. SABC COO, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who received R1.7 million while on suspension since January 2017, and was paid R12.5 million while irregularly employed as the SABC’s COO, has fallen and James Aguma is currently suspended, facing a disciplinary inquiry. Next should be Raphela, and the numerous “enforcers” who implemented patently illegal and unethical decisions at the orders of Aguma and Motsoeneng.
The SABC can and will be returned to being the public broadcaster that fulfils its mandate of entertaining and educating the public, without being a feeding trough for corrupt officials.

DA reports Minister Dlodlo to Ethics Committee for French Open and Gupta Dubai trips

The DA have thoroughly interrogated the 2015 Register of Members’ Interests and found that Communications Minister, Ayanda Dlodlo, failed to declare her 2015 trip to Dubai as well as her stay at the luxurious Oberoi Hotel when she was still Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration.
Further allegations emerged yesterday by former ANC MP, Vytjie Mentor, that Dlodlo accepted an offer from a French Nuclear company for a first class flight to watch the French Open tennis tournament, an extended stay at a luxury hotel and a possible shopping spree in 2009.
These expenses were not declared in either the 2009 or 2010 Register of Members’ Interests.
The DA will, therefore, refer Minister Dlodlo to the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests for this failure to disclose these expenses.
Documents show her stay in Dubai was arranged by Gupta-owned Sahara Computers and the cost of her stay (including spa massages, room service, accommodation and car hire) was paid by Fana Hlongwane, who was implicated in former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report and the arms deal, and has claimed to be “like an uncle” to President Jacob Zuma’s son, Duduzane.
In terms of the Parliamentary Code of Conduct, the following should be disclosed by MPs:

  • Section 9.11 on Travel requires a brief description of the journey, the particulars of the sponsor and the estimated value of travel, accommodation and subsistence and travel allowances; and
  • Section 9.3.8 on foreign travel requires that Member’s declare any business visits unrelated to the Member’s role as a public representative, and official and formal visits paid for by an organ of State or the Member’s party.

Clearly, Minister Dlodlo has a lot to answer for.
The flood of revelations contained in the Gupta emails are further proof of the family’s unbridled influence over countless ANC public representatives.
Yet more allegations of another lavish trip accepted by Dlodlo, which she failed to declare, must now raise serious questions.
What is of great importance is that Minister Dlodlo confirmed yesterday that the Gupta-owned company did indeed organise her stay and that Hlongwane paid for it.  This admission is therefore the first official legitimisation of all of the Gupta emails and the shocking extent of State Capture that they reveal.
These emails also provide concrete proof that the ANC has sold our country for the benefit of a few politically connected individuals, at the expense of 55 million South Africans.
The DA will also continue to investigate any possible links which the newly appointed Communications Minister may have to the Guptas, as we cannot afford yet another captured individual to have free reign over the communication ministry.

Meddling Muthambi must personally pay for her judicial review of SABC report

The DA will write to Communications Minister, Faith Muthambi, to demand confirmation that she will personally pay for the legal costs of taking the SABC Ad Hoc committee report on judicial review.
Muthambi is doing her utmost to avoid accountability by taking the report, which was adopted in the National Assembly on Tuesday by most parties, including the ANC, on review.
She claims she was not given proper notice of the allegations against her and as a result was “substantially prejudiced” in her ability to respond meaningfully. This is a bold-faced lie.
Muthambi was given ample opportunity to reply to the allegations in person before the committee and was also allowed to publish a written response to the findings of the report before final publication, which she did.
During the Ad Hoc committee proceedings, it became clear that the SABC board’s failure could, in many ways, be attributed to the Minister’s meddling. The committee also found that the Minister displayed incompetence in carrying out her responsibilities.
If the Minister had one ounce of shame, she would do the honourable thing and resign, not use public money to try and defend the indefensible.
The DA has already written to the Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, to request an urgent investigation as we believe she lied under oath, gave false and misleading evidence to the committee and used her position to unduly benefit Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
In so doing, the DA believes she has breached the Constitution, Executive Ethics Code and the Powers Privileges and Diplomatic Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Government Acts.
It is clear that the Minister is now scrambling as the evidence against her is plain for all to see.
Muthambi is clearly not fit for office.
Whether Muthambi does the honourable thing and resigns or the President removes her of her position, she must go with immediate effect.