South Africa: SABC bosses face rebellion

SABC board chairman Ben Ngubane and group CEO Solly Mokoetle, who are said to be enjoying support from President Jacob Zuma, are fighting an incessant rear-guard battle against the board on many fronts - including that the board wants Mokoetle to quit or they will.

The embattled Mokoetle, who is considered arrogant because he has a direct line to Zuma and Ngubane, is believed to have unexpectedly announced performance results at the end of the first trading quarter - an unusual step by the broadcaster - as a strategy to counter a growing clamour within the board to show him the door for the Molefe gaffe and for the fact that he is generally seen as poorly qualified for the job and imposed by the previous interim board.

Ngubane and Mokoetle controversially appointed Molefe as head of news in May, sparking a rebellion among board members who forced the appointment process to be reviewed.

The internal rebellion is in addition to criticism from outside the SABC on how it continues to be mismanaged.

A senior ANC MP close to the SABC governance also said he had received several complaints from board members and SABC employees regarding Mokoetle's "poor leadership" style. The MP said members of the board had expressed their intention to get rid of the CEO.

- August 09, 2010 by Sunday Independent

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Source: www.misa.org  (received via email alert on 09.08.2010)