Former COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng will not be called to testify in front of Parliament’s ad hoc committee on the SABC board inquiry.
The committee closed testimony last week and was due to start deliberations working on the document on Thursday‚ but United Democratic Movement MP Nqabayomzi Kwankwa requested that the committee reconsider its decision not to call Motsoeneng in the interests of fairness.
Kwankwa said that Motsoeneng had been “implicated” in much of the testimony‚ and the committee should call him to avoid being seen as biased.
However‚ all MPs on the committee argued that the committee needed to meet strict deadlines‚ and could not call more witnesses.
Many also said that Motsoeneng had been given opportunities to express his side of the story‚ but had not yet done so. He would also be able to comment on the draft report once it is completed‚ if he so wished.
ANC MP Jabulani Mahlangu said that the SABC had sent a delegation of executives to the committee when it first started‚ and Motsoeneng had been part of that group.
He said chairman Vincent Smith had given the opportunity to this group to ask questions‚ but they never had.
DA MP Phumzile van Damme said that Motsoeneng's position had been made very clear by the courts. She also said he had not made use of the opportunities available to him.
“He came in here‚ and walked out and called a press conference insulting this committee and calling us a kangaroo court‚” she said.
The EFF's Fana Mokoena said it was not the committee's job to clear anyone's names and give them a platform.
“If we are expected to clear everyone's names then we should also have to call the Guptas‚ Brian Molefe and others‚” he said.
The ACDP's Steve Swart said Motsoeneng could also have made written submissions if he so wished‚ in the same way that former Communcations Minister Yunus Carrim had.
– TMG Digital/Parliament
