Former SABC chief operating officer (COO) turned politician Hlaudi Motsoeneng has dropped a bombshell regarding the disastrous financial affairs of the public broadcaster.
Motsoeneng, who is the leader of African Content Movement political party, said the SABC needed him to turn around its fortunes. He also claimed the broadcaster is being run down by its top executives and the board.
Speaking to Sunday World this week, Motsoeneng said that he was highly concerned at the state of financial crisis that the SABC has find itself in as he stated that all the mess that was taking place at the Auckland Park based multi broadcaster was caused by people whom he claimed were brainless.
According to the SABC’s financial statements, which we have seen, the broadcaster had R4.71-billion in revenues, with R43.9 million cash in the bank in 2008/9 financial year, and when Motsoeneng take over as the COO in November 2011, the state broadcaster’s revenue changed drastically, as they increased to R5.29-billion.
When he left the SABC, the broadcaster’s revenue had skyrocketed to R8.09 billion, with R881 million cash in the bank, and Motsoeneng bold said that it was all his effort and hard work alongside the team he surrounded himself with to help the troubled state broadcaster to turn its fortunes around.
“When I was there at the SABC, I worked hard to bring financial stability and job security for the people employed there. I came up with the strategy that assisted to bring the SABC to sound financial stability, and after I left everything, I worked hard to build collapsed. The SABC took people who know nothing about broadcasting and put them in positions to run the broadcaster. How do you take brainless and useless people and put them in positions of responsibility while they have never worked a day in the broadcasting environment.
“Despite me not having matric, I managed to excel towards building the SABC, unlike those lawyers and doctors with high qualifications. Those people were hired because of their qualifications, but truth needs to be told that it is not just a piece of paper (qualifications) that will make things work, but people with brains can turn things around in any working environment,” said Motsoeneng.
He also stated that the as a citizen of South Africa, whom, as he claimed that he had saved the SABC, it was a high time for the broadcaster’s bosses to swallow their pride and come to him to ask him to come on board to rescue the situation.
“I don’t want to be employed back by the SABC, but I want to help the broadcaster to reclaim its glory. Those people should understand that like any other people in the country, I am also concerned and worried on the collapse of the broadcaster. I can help them to turn around things there, as the same people whom I have worked with, are still out there and they will be more than willing to come on board so that we can save the SABC from sinking.
“When I left, SABC loss was R411 million, but right now its loss is R1.1-billion. I wonder if this time around they will blame for such a mess, as all the time, when they find themselves in a sticky situation, they will blame everything on me. People of this country should look into this whole thing closely and judge for themselves.
“I left the SABC for almost seven years now, but the same people who were trusted in taking the broadcaster forward [have] failed dismally. Let’s wait and see who they will blame now as I have been away from that place for years now,” he said.
Motsoeneng said that it was heart breaking that the SABC was losing sports broadcasting rights “left, right and centre” because of people whom he labelled “clueless”.
“When I was there, I used to negotiate great deals for the broadcaster, but those clowns at the helm of the SABC are failing to discuss anything with the sponsors. The only thing they know is to go to the sponsors and advertisers trying to mobilise them not to advertise or sponsor their rivals.
“What kind of nonsense is that… executives trying hard to blackmail other broadcasters? Those people at the SABC need to get off their high horses and come to me to help them. The SABC is a sinking ship, and they will have to retrench many people and also put a strain on local production houses to close down,” said Motsoeneng.
Responding to Motsoeneng’s claims, the SABC spokesperson Mmoni Seapolelo said: “The SABC’s annual report is tabled and the true facts are contained in the report. The SABC will not give the alleged illogical utterances from the same person every year to make themselves relevant in the public domain. In terms of the allegations regarding the SABC lobbying advertisers not to use Multichoice, it is interesting that the same person seems to be making unfounded allegations.
“The SABC sees this in a serious light and will urge anyone to refrain from making such false allegations. It is clear that some citizens do not have the best interest of the successful SABC at heart. The SABC is cognizant of the fact that it operates in a very competitive space and as such respects other players in the industry and upholds high ethical conduct”.
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