The meeting of Parliament’s Communications Committee was tense as members could not agree on how to resolve the SABC Board debacle following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s letter seeking legal clarity.
The meeting, held on Tuesday, ended after midnight.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) suggested that the committee should stick with the 12 recommended names and remove the additional three names that were approved by the Assembly in December last year.
This followed legal advice from Parliament’s Senior Legal Adviser, Advocate Frank Jenkins, who briefed the sub-committee on how to respond to the letter from Ramaphosa and resolve the matter.
EFF member of the sub-committee, Vuyani Pambo says, “There is absolutely no reason why we are here. The Legal practitioner is absolutely correct. We have adopted these names and we know which names we wanted to be appointed. The twelve names are very clear to us.”
“The three other names which have now caused the confusion, which is induced confusion by the President, even the letter that the President wrote and the letters that have been exchanged between the Minster and the Speaker, there is absolutely no confusion on who are the twelve names that must be appointed.”
Meanwhile, Committee Chairperson Boyce Maneli says the committee hopes to inform the National Assembly of the committee’s way forward and new decision on the names of the candidates to serve on the board.
He says the committee will also give an indication on whether to seek independent legal advice as was suggested by the African National Congress (ANC) in the sub-committee with objections from the EFF and IFP.
“Officially, we adjourn, we will be communicating at the next meeting, including the status of whether we are getting the legal opinion or not. And I’m saying even if we don’t get it for whatever reasons, we will still have to convene, give you that report and be able to take [the] matter forward.”
“But by the end of the week, we should be able to advise the National Assembly on what is the new resolution of the committee,” adds Maneli.
The video below is the proceedings of Parliament’s portfolio committee on the appointment of the SABC Board:
