SIX MONTHS after the term of the last board term came to an end, and following court action to force his hand, President Cyril Ramaphosa has finally appointed a new SABC board.
The Presidency announced on Tuesday that Ramaphosa had appointed the 12-member board to lead the state broadcaster for a five-year period.
“In terms of Section 13(3) of the Act, President Ramaphosa designated Mr Khathutshelo Ramukumba as chairperson and Ms Nomvuyiso Batyi as the deputy chairperson of the SABC board,” it said in a statement.
Ramukumba is a chartered accountant by profession and is currently the chief financial officer at Unisa.
He previously worked for the SA Post Office and the National Youth Development Agency, while Batyi is an Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) councillor.
Notable figures on the new board include former EFF MP Magdelene Moonsamy, as well as former SABC head of news Phathiswa Magopeni.
“The SABC is a vital institution of our constitutional democracy. I trust the newly appointed board members will work hard at ensuring that South Africa continues to benefit from a stable, independent and effective national public broadcaster,” Ramaphosa said.
The president was criticised for his delay in appointing the board and faced a scathing legal opinion from Parliament on his second-guessing of a list approved by the National Assembly.
In December, he was given a list of people to be appointed to the board, as required by law.
Earlier in March, Parliament’s legal advisor, Andile Tetyana, said the president had acted unlawfully by questioning the status of three additional names given to him to consider should anyone on the list of 12 names be unavailable.
Ramaphosa further faced court action by Media Monitoring Africa, who asked the Constitutional Court to force him to appoint the SABC board.
William Bird of Media Monitoring Africa, said:
We are relieved that the appointments have been made, but there are still key questions about how this was handled by the president, and we are consulting with our legal team about the way forward with the Constitutional Court case.
Bird said they wanted to ensure that something like this did not happen again.
“For the board, we wish them luck. It will be a baptism of fire, and they will need to work night and day to stabilise the board, and we hope they will receive support from Parliament in their efforts,” he said.
The full list of SABC board members are:
- Renee Horne;
- Tseliso Thipanyane;
- Khathutshelo Ramukumba;
- Nomvuyiso Batyi;
- Phathiswa Magopeni;
- Aifheli Makhwanya;
- Magdalene Moonsamy;
- Rearabetsoe Motaung;
- David Maimela;
- Dinkwanyane Mohuba;
- Mpho Tsedu; and
- Palesa Kadi.
