Tim Cohen
6 July 2009
opinion
Johannesburg — MOST of the SABC's income comes from taxpayers, users through an obligatory user fee, and advertising. Hence, it's surely logical that the institution should represent the full spectrum of taxpayers, users and business.
The board should reflect a broad cross-section of all interest groups in society. This does not mean the government's nominees should not predominate, just that they should be rooted in an open discussion of what is best for the organisation, not for the African National Congress (ANC).
This is all basic stuff. So it shouldn't have been a surprise when President Jacob Zuma undertook that opposition voices should be accommodated in the reconstruction of the SABC.
Yet the ANC's decision to go back on its promise and present its slate as a fait accompli with a tiny concession to one opposition party reveals an interesting broader issue. It demonstrates once again how the ANC regards its leader with ill-disguised disdain, and how little actual power he has.
It must be said, though, that the ANC's list of candidates is not the group of craven lapdogs and incompetents who were part of the last board. There is a senior businesswoman in Irene Charley, a real journalist and academic in Phil Mtimkulu, and a real all-round media pundit in Libby Lloyd.
As for the opposition, the Inkatha Freedom Party should be ashamed of itself or playing the ANC's game for such a small payoff. Nor was I particularly impressed with the Democratic Alliance's suggestion of Mamphela Ramphele, not because she wouldn't be an excellent candidate in most circumstances but because she is not what the SABC needs now. What it needs is a tough-minded turnaround artist, not a political consensus figure.
My personal nomination would be Steve Mulholland, who may be a bit long in the tooth, but he has successfully turned around two massive media groups.
The additional advantage of having Mulholland is that it wouldn't matter who else was on the board because they wouldn't get a word in edgeways.
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