SABC execs suspended for hiding multi-million rand profit share with contractor- report

The careers of three SABC executives are on the line after an investigation reportedly found that they did not disclose a 7.5% profit share clause with service provider Discover Digital.

Group chief operating officer Ian Plaatjies, group executive for video entertainment Merlin Naicker and group executive for sales Reginald Nxumalo were said to have been suspended on Monday following a legal opinion from law firm Werksmans.

Werkmans said the three executives deliberately concealed the crucial information from the executive committee during their presentation before the agreement was signed in 2022.

Hidden profit share

Discover Digital was contracted by the public broadcaster for an annual R35 million to manage its digital content streaming platform SABC Plus.

However, the three executives failed to reveal that, over and above this, the technology company was to be paid 7.5%, according to a City Press report.

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It was projected that SABC Plus would make between R150 million to R200 million annually.

The executives were found to have misled the committee when they said the SABC would be getting 100% of the advertising revenue in the deal.

The secret profit share agreement was kept under wraps until the SABC’s then head of legal, Advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara, questioned the clause.

‘Broken trust’

The trio had signed the deal without Vanara and then acting CEO Madoda Mxakwe.

Responding to Vanara’s query, Plaatjies and Discover Digital managing director Stephen Watson asserted that the 7.5% ad revenue share applied to the agreement.

Weksmans told the SABC that the three ought to have flagged the 7.5% revenue share and ensured that it fully appreciated the cost implications of the agreement.

While it is not clear whether the three benefited from the deal, the lawyers found that their failure to act in the best interests of the SABC had broken the trust.

Nxumalo allegedly caught wind of the impending suspensions and resigned.

Lungile Binza and Lala Tuku were appointed to act in Plaatjies and Naicker positions respectively.

‘Ghost workers’

Meanwhile, allegations of ghost workers at the public broadcaster surfaced last year after an anonymous email was sent to its top bosses.

The SABC condemned the email last December but announced an investigation into payments made.

“One of the managers under investigation tendered a resignation with immediate effect, while other staff members are facing disciplinary processes.

“The matter is addressed within the SABC’s human resources policies and will also be referred to the other relevant authorities for further investigation,” the SABC said at the time.

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