THE resignation of SABC acting CEO Jimi
Matthews was timed to create an impression of instability at the public
broadcaster, the ANC said on Tuesday.
This claim by the ANC is not
surprising as the party has previously endorsed changes made to
editorial policy at the SABC, such as the banning of coverage of violent
protests where public property was being burnt.
Matthews resigned from the SABC on Monday.
In his resignation letter, which was posted on Twitter, he conceded that he had been "complicit in many decisions, which I am not proud of".
He also said the turn of events at the broadcaster was wrong and he could no longer be part of it. He had for months compromised the values he held dear under the "mistaken belief" that he could effect change from inside the SABC, he said.
The SABC has had 10 CEOs, including those who served in an acting capacity, since 2009.
ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa on Tuesday accused Matthews of being part of a "clique" at the SABC that was working against transformation.
He questioned why Matthews, who had access to the SABC board, management and a direct line to Communications Minister Faith Muthambi, had not raised the issues before resigning.
"He doesn’t raise the issues, he jumps the ship first and then says all these spurious things after jumping ship.
"If he was part of a corrosive atmosphere why didn’t he raise the issues while he was there and sort it out? Why jump the ship and then grandstand and become the darling of those who never agreed or accepted the SABC?" Kodwa asked.
He said Matthews had allowed himself to used as a tool to bash the SABC.
"There is an agenda politically to contest the editorial and public mandate of the SABC. Everybody wants a piece of the SABC, to influence it."
However, Kodwa said the ANC acknowledged that there were management issues at the SABC, which needed to be sorted out.
Following Matthews’s resignation, three senior staff members at the SABC penned a letter to chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng complaining about the situation at the broadcaster, and demanding an audience with him.
This also followed the suspension last week of three staff members who disagreed with a decision not to cover a protest targeting the broadcaster, and certain editorial policy changes.
The letter to Motsoeneng was signed by Special Assignment executive producer Busisiwe Ntuli, SAfm Current Affairs executive producer Krivani Pillay and senior investigative reporter Jacques Steenkamp.
"Our newsroom has become a source of derision, despair and criticism from the people that we are fundamentally accountable to, the public at large," the three wrote.
"In particular, the developments of the past week have heightened this sense of fear, lack of clarity about our journalist(ic) responsibility and low staff morale permeating our newsrooms…."
Ntuli, Pillay and Steenkamp said they were aggrieved that the image of the SABC and its journalists’ integrity continued to be compromised by "unconstitutional pronouncements".
They also expressed concern over the suspension of three of their colleagues.
Economics editor Thandeka Gqubule, RSG executive producer Foeta Krige, and senior journalist Suna Venter have all been suspended for disagreeing with an instruction during a diary conference not to cover the Right2Know campaign’s protest against censorship at the SABC.
Kodwa said the high turnover of CEOs at the SABC was unacceptable because it was a source of instability.
He said the issues raised by Ntuli, Pillay and Steenkamp were also part of the management issues that needed to be resolved.
"They have a lot of unhappiness. If there are people who are unhappy they must be listened to. Management has got to listen and allow them to air their views … it’s part of what management must improve on," Kodwa said.
Since Matthews’s resignation, neither the SABC or the Department of Communications has responded to requests for comment.
by Genevieve Quintal/BDLIVE
Matthews resigned from the SABC on Monday.
In his resignation letter, which was posted on Twitter, he conceded that he had been "complicit in many decisions, which I am not proud of".
He also said the turn of events at the broadcaster was wrong and he could no longer be part of it. He had for months compromised the values he held dear under the "mistaken belief" that he could effect change from inside the SABC, he said.
The SABC has had 10 CEOs, including those who served in an acting capacity, since 2009.
ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa on Tuesday accused Matthews of being part of a "clique" at the SABC that was working against transformation.
He questioned why Matthews, who had access to the SABC board, management and a direct line to Communications Minister Faith Muthambi, had not raised the issues before resigning.
"He doesn’t raise the issues, he jumps the ship first and then says all these spurious things after jumping ship.
"If he was part of a corrosive atmosphere why didn’t he raise the issues while he was there and sort it out? Why jump the ship and then grandstand and become the darling of those who never agreed or accepted the SABC?" Kodwa asked.
He said Matthews had allowed himself to used as a tool to bash the SABC.
"There is an agenda politically to contest the editorial and public mandate of the SABC. Everybody wants a piece of the SABC, to influence it."
However, Kodwa said the ANC acknowledged that there were management issues at the SABC, which needed to be sorted out.
Following Matthews’s resignation, three senior staff members at the SABC penned a letter to chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng complaining about the situation at the broadcaster, and demanding an audience with him.
This also followed the suspension last week of three staff members who disagreed with a decision not to cover a protest targeting the broadcaster, and certain editorial policy changes.
The letter to Motsoeneng was signed by Special Assignment executive producer Busisiwe Ntuli, SAfm Current Affairs executive producer Krivani Pillay and senior investigative reporter Jacques Steenkamp.
"Our newsroom has become a source of derision, despair and criticism from the people that we are fundamentally accountable to, the public at large," the three wrote.
"In particular, the developments of the past week have heightened this sense of fear, lack of clarity about our journalist(ic) responsibility and low staff morale permeating our newsrooms…."
Ntuli, Pillay and Steenkamp said they were aggrieved that the image of the SABC and its journalists’ integrity continued to be compromised by "unconstitutional pronouncements".
They also expressed concern over the suspension of three of their colleagues.
Economics editor Thandeka Gqubule, RSG executive producer Foeta Krige, and senior journalist Suna Venter have all been suspended for disagreeing with an instruction during a diary conference not to cover the Right2Know campaign’s protest against censorship at the SABC.
Kodwa said the high turnover of CEOs at the SABC was unacceptable because it was a source of instability.
He said the issues raised by Ntuli, Pillay and Steenkamp were also part of the management issues that needed to be resolved.
"They have a lot of unhappiness. If there are people who are unhappy they must be listened to. Management has got to listen and allow them to air their views … it’s part of what management must improve on," Kodwa said.
Since Matthews’s resignation, neither the SABC or the Department of Communications has responded to requests for comment.
by Genevieve Quintal/BDLIVE
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