A loss of Faith brings hope

I was a little bemused when the doomed acting CEO of the SABC James Aguma came to Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications the week before last and said "consistent negative reporting by the media on events at the SABC which ultimately results in decreased revenue collection, reputational damage and staff morale" is one of the reasons for the financial doldrums the public broadcaster finds itself in.

I spent the best part of the last three and a half years writing consistent negative reports about the SABC. It was like shooting fish in a barrel, unfortunately. You hardly had to dig for these stories, all you needed was Hlaudi Motsoeneng opening his mouth or giving himself a raise. And that he did often. 

The thing is, the reporters on the SABC beat didn’t make up those shameful tales of corporate insanity that made it into print and pixels. If we did, people would think we’re insane. It happened, and Aguma played a big part in it. If these things were not brought into the open, I’d wager there would by now only have been a big gaping hole in Auckland Park where the SABC’s head office once stood.