RESOLUTION OF THE IFP NATIONAL COUNCIL

Durban Manor: 10 March 2013

The IFP National Council having met in Durban on 9 and 10 March 2013 unanimously adopted the following resolution:

1. ONGOING CRISIS AT THE SABC

Noting -

The latest SABC scandal playing itself out in the public arena - the Chief Operating Officer crisis, the new rift in the Board, coupled with allegations that Communications Minister Dina Pule has motivated for the re-instatement of disgraced COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng - serves only to bolster claims that the SABC has not managed to rid itself of the never-ending cycle of incompetence and mismanagement at the highest levels.

Resolves -

(1) That there can be no doubt that the ongoing process of the politicization of the public broadcaster lies at the very heart of the SABC's protracted crisis;

(2) That the latest public example of the malaise at the SABC comes despite the removal of the entire Board a few years ago, which proves that sadly, the new Board have not been able to stem the crisis;

(3) Condemns the alleged interference of Communications Minister Dina Pule in the Motsoeneng matter, which again demonstrates the SABC's lack of independence;

(4) To call for urgent action to resolve the SABC crisis, failing which, South Africans will no longer believe that it is still "the right thing to do" to pay for TV licenses;

(5) To support the proposal of lobby group SOS, who have recommended in the past that the SABC become a chapter 9 institution to protect its independence;

(6) To repeat our call that South Africans deserve a vibrant, functioning public broadcaster, and not a state broadcaster, that serves the needs of all South Africans.