Parliament expresses confidence in candidates interviewed for SABC board

Mkhize said the candidates demonstrated the required level of expertise in different fields, including corporate governance, law, finance, accounting, art and culture as well as journalism.

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee has expressed confidence in the calibre of candidates interviewed to fill eight vacancies on the board of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

“We are mainly satisfied with the proportional representation with regards to gender, age and racial diversity in line with national demographics. We view the level of interest to serve on the SABC board as a sign of confidence in the entity,” said Committee Chairperson, Professor Hlengiwe Mkhize, on Friday.

Mkhize’s comments come following the three-day interviews that concluded on Thursday.

A total of 24 candidates were interviewed.

Mkhize said the candidates demonstrated the required level of expertise in different fields, including corporate governance, law, finance, accounting, art and culture as well as journalism.

The next step is for the committee to deliberate and agree on the final list to submit to the National Assembly for final adoption.

The committee has allocated three weeks to complete the process of filling vacancies on the board of the SABC.

The broadcaster, which is in dire financial straits, sank into deeper crisis late last year following the resignation of four directors, which left its board without the quorum required to make decisions.

The eight vacancies were advertised in December in which the committee received 323 nominations.

In addition to these, the committee resolved that the 80 nominations received during the previous Board shortlisting and interview process in October 2018 should also be considered.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)