We should not be laughing at former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng. By laughing at the absurdities that come out of his mouth we are actually playing down the real harm he caused, which brought the state broadcaster to its knees.
Motsoeneng appeared at the state capture commission of inquiry this week, where he waxed lyrical about how wonderful, smart and capable he believed he was, insisting he was the one who held the SABC together.
He flippantly told the commission how he had met the Guptas too many times to count, eaten curry at their residence and how he was trying to “capture” the controversial family. Never mind that the entire commission is centred on the Guptas and their relationship with former president Jacob Zuma.
Motsoeneng also stood by his controversial decision to censor news at the SABC. He said he left the SABC in a good financial position and rebuffed claims that his unpopular policies, such as the 90% local-content quota, and his controversial leadership style were among the factors that contributed to the corporation’s financial woes.
He lashed out at his detractors, saying that despite not having a matric certificate he was the “main man” at the organisation and that he was, in his own view, very educated.
The former SABC COO also had no problem throwing in a few exaggerated stories into the mix. He told the commission how he lectured at the Wits Business School and that it even developed a syllabus based on his lecture on leadership.
This prompted the school to tweet that Motsoeneng in fact never lectured there but was invited to speak on a panel. As someone pointed out, however, it is shocking enough that Wits thought it worth having a man like Motsoeneng on one of its panels in the first place. But that’s another story.
Members of the public at the inquiry laughed as Motsoeneng made these absurd comments, while on social media jokes and memes were the order of the day. But his appearance at the commission comes on the back of the testimony of some of the SABC8, journalists who were fired for speaking out against censorship at the broadcaster under Motsoeneng, who made the lives of many at the SABC a living hell.
Krivani Pillay and Foeta Krige told the inquiry how Motsoeneng, a key ally of Zuma, constantly interfered in the functioning of the SABC newsroom for political motives, ruled by decree, protected Zuma and the governing ANC from criticism, and ruthlessly dealt with those who stood in his way.
This is not the first time such allegations have been made. A commission of inquiry into interference at the SABC last month found that the public broadcaster suffered from the “capricious use of authority and power to terrorise staff” and that it was “crippled by pain‚ anger and fear”.
Motsoeneng was at the centre of these allegations. It was found that people succumbed to his demands because they feared being dismissed. But despite the trauma he inflicted and the toxic atmosphere created, and despite what he says about his own greatness, Motsoeneng and his ilk left the public broadcaster in a dire financial situation.
The SABC is technically insolvent, overburdened by staff salaries and drowning in irregular expenditure. Its dwindling revenue means it is unable to service debt of almost R2bn. It has requested a R3.2bn government guarantee to stay afloat and pay off some of the debt, but its bid for funding has so far been unsuccessful, largely due to its failure to meet the Treasury’s conditions.
The new SABC management is battling to hold things together while — as at other state-owned enterprises — a fightback seems to be raging against the cleanup. Earlier this week the SABC said it had strong evidence that the airing of an unedited version of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech to the nation last week was a result of sabotage.
The public broadcaster had to apologise profusely to Ramaphosa for playing the wrong pre-recorded message in the midst of xenophobic attacks in Gauteng and protests against violence against women. In the unedited version the president asks the TV crew whether he can “start again” after making a mistake. The video later went viral on social media. The SABC has suspended three employees for the incident and stopped using one freelancer.
Last month the SABC approached the labour court to have 28 irregular appointments made during Motsoeneng’s tenure set aside as unlawful and invalid. And on Thursday the public broadcaster updated the public on other ongoing disciplinary processes, saying people had either been suspended or dismissed.
It said many of the affected employees were implicated in transactions amounting to R5.2bn of irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, as well as breaches of the Public Finance Management Act and SABC procurement policies. Some of the cases point to downright criminal activity, the SABC said.
Looking at all of this, one can’t help thinking that Motsoeneng suffers from delusions of grandeur. The decimation of the SABC means the tragedy of his reign is no laughing matter.
• Quintal is political editor.
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