President Zuma will wait for Parliament on SABC board appointment

Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma will take his cue from Parliament on the formation of an interim SABC board. 

The SABC board collapsed following en masse resignations that left the chairperson Professor Mbulaheni Maghuve the lone man standing.

Other former board members testified before Parliament's ad hoc committee that they were purged for disagreeing with the permanent appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as chief operations officer and the collapse of governance at the public broadcaster.  

Maghuve submitted his resignation to Zuma on Monday, following what political parties described as a humiliating show by him before the ad hoc committee. 

"The president will wait for the National Assembly to conclude its inquiry. Any further decision regarding the SABC board will be guided by the recommendations of the National Assembly," the Presidency said in a statement.

The Presidency has also explained the legal process of appointing an interim board following its dissolution by Parliament. It said the Broadcasting Act requires that the president appoints an interim board consisting of three executive members of the board and five persons recommended by the National Assembly. 

"The Broadcasting Act requires the president to appoint the interim board within 10 days of receiving recommendations from the National Assembly. The interim board is appointed for a period not exceeding six months," the statement said. 

Lobby groups had called for an urgent meeting of the parliamentary committee on communications to kick-start the process of nominating interim board members, citing concerns about the vacuum left by the board's collapse.  

On Tuesday Parliament released a statement noting Maghuve's resignation, stating that the portfolio committee on communications is yet to meet to deal with the matter.

"We cannot speculate on time frames, suffice to say, Parliament takes seriously the significance and the urgency of setting up an appropriate accounting authority for normal operations of the SABC," spokesperson Manelisi Wolela said.