THE government needs to take swift action to resolve the crisis at the SABC, says the public broadcaster’s chairwoman, Kanyi Mkonza.
The broadcaster will remain mired in financial and leadership crisis unless the government decided what needed to be done and how to communicate it.
In an interview yesterday, Mkonza called for co-operation and tolerance.
“To restore confidence, it’s going to take more than the board.
“It will require government to get involved, and other stakeholders. We need to work together, look at projects we can embark on so we are not standing on opposite sides.”
She said the formation of the Save Our SABC coalition was positive. “We want to work with them on the funding model, on local content, on appointing the board. The production industry has been keen to restore sanity to the relationship, and so are we. It is correct that the public gets involved. It has led to people wanting to get involved, which is good.”
Mkonza said the board needed to be more accountable to the government as well as the broader public, and needed to be more transparent.
“After every board meeting, we should hold a press conference, then everyone is kept informed all the time, not just when there’s a crisis.”
Mkonza said the Cabinet could decide to boost the capacity of the existing board by filling vacancies, or it could remove the entire board and appoint a new one, with an interim board appointed pending the finalisation of board appointments.
“Whatever needs to happen, needs to happen now. Whether it’s asking the board to resign, government needs to decide now for the sake of the SABC,” Mkonza said.
“All of us are wandering here in the bush, speculating, and we need to know what is going on.” She said she was confident an announcement would follow the three-day Cabinet lekgotla, which ended yesterday.
Mkonza has come in for a good deal of criticism since she was appointed chairwoman in December 2007.
“From the time the board was announced, there were objections, from the Congress of South African Trade Unions , the South African Communist Party, the Freedom of Expression Institute. That immediately eroded any respect towards the board, it didn’t matter what the board wanted to put in place. After that, it didn’t matter what we wanted to say. Everyone, including management, took advantage of that.
“There have been fingers pointing at my inability to lead the board. I look at my role as being a stabiliser, bringing management and board together and building confidence in the board. It’s difficult for me because people in management would like to see me gone.”
newmarchj@bdfm.co.za