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Cape Town - Parliament's communications portfolio committee says the SABC, GCIS, and the department must fill vacant executive-level positions in order to deal with poor performance.
The committee listened to presentations from the Department of Communications, the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) and various entities on their mid-term strategic framework objectives this week at a workshop in Stellenbosch.
"The challenge with acting managers is that they are often reluctant to take certain strategic decisions, which results in poor performance by the department or entities," chairperson Humphrey Maxegwana said on Wednesday.
"The Department of Communications and the GCIS have been struggling to fill director-general positions, which is a cause for concern."
Maxegwana also said positions at the Film and Publication Board (FPB), the department of communications, and the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) must be filled.
Some of the vacant positions are:
- Group Chief Executive Officer, Head of Internal Audit and Chief Operating Officer at the SABC.
- The FPB has suspended the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operational Officer and the Chief Financial Officer is serving a notice of resignation.
- The GCIS has a vacancy for the post of Director-General and the MDDA has vacancies for a Chief Executive Officer, a Chief Financial Officer and a Chief Operational Officer.
Maxegwana said the committee will be refining its own mid-term goals as to align it with the entities it oversees, and Parliament's strategic goals.
Interim SABC board will reverse 'stupid decisions'
On Monday, interim SABC board deputy chairperson Mathatha Tsedu said there would be no shortcuts in earning back the public's confidence in the SABC.
One of their top priorities was reversing bad decisions, he told the committee during the Stellenbosch workshop, which included the 90% local content rule, which was introduced by Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
"A lot of stupid decisions were made without applying intelligence," he said, which had cost television R183m, and radio R29m.
This started with a loss of audience, and then the loss of advertising.
Another priority included the hiring of qualified and efficient leadership, as well as regaining public trust in the broadcaster.
The board also asked for assistance from the committee with putting pressure on government to ensure that national interest issues - such as elections and state funerals - were financed through the fiscus.
The committee lauded the interim board for the work they had started doing at the SABC.
The board will only be in charge for six months, before a permanent board is appointed.
