“appointing people solely on their credentials as ANC "cadres" must end” – Holomisa

By Ilhaam Hoosain
07 May 2008

The SABC board has confirmed that Group CEO, Dali Mpofu has been suspended with immediate effect.

According to reports this is pending an investigation and possible disciplinary inquiry. The Board says in a statement that Mpofu's suspension follows "very serious allegations" including "an alleged refusal and or failure to implement decisions of the board".

Mpofu's suspension follows the suspension of head of news Snuki Zikalala yesterday. Zikalala suspension was announced yesterday.

UDM President, Bantu Holomisa says: “The fiasco at the SABC is a case of the chickens coming home to roost. Many people have been critical of the SABC acting like state-controlled media, instead of being an unbiased public broadcaster.”

He goes onto say that the debate about the credibility of the SABC Board, and now the fracas involving the suspensions of Zikhalala and Mpofu, illustrate that as long as Board members and senior staff are selected for their connections to the ruling party, there will always be questions of bias and infighting.

“The public is aware that this infighting revolves around the replacement of people who are perceived by one faction as being loyal to another faction in the ANC. It is clear that the Board and some staff would want to endear themselves to the new ruling clique in the ANC,” says Holomisa

He adds that there is no doubt that some people are likely to fall by the wayside, but we (the UDM) appeal to the Board to ensure that when they appoint new people in these senior positions they cast the net wide.

”This nonsense of appointing people solely on their credentials as ANC "cadres" must end, surely they have now learnt that it keeps backfiring,” says Holomisa.