DA tightens grip on SABC, demanding salaries disclosure

Democratic Alliance Shadow minister Phumzile Van Damme wants the public to know the how much the SA Broadcasting Corporation’s top management earn.

The MP is on a quest to have the SABC’s top management undergo salary cuts.

She accused the SABC’s top management of having inflated packages and wants “the public to know” the truth.

The SABC has told the DA that it will have to wait for about a year before the public broadcasters’ top management’s salaries are revealed.

In a statement, the SABC said the salaries of the recently appointed executive board members and executive management had been significantly reduced, but did not reveal what the current salaries were.

Van Damme said the DA will not let the matter rest. They have submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to the SABC requesting the full salary packages of the public broadcaster’s group CEO, COO and CFO.

READ MORE: DA launches ‘struggling SABC monitor’ until top-dog salaries disclosed

The PAIA aims to promote transparency, accountability and effective governance of all public bodies.  She believes the grounds for refusal of information in the act do not apply to the SABC in this instance.

“We trust that the public broadcaster’s management will reveal the requested information in the spirit of promotion of transparency, accountability and effective governance at the SABC.”

She said the DA has also submitted parliamentary questions to the minister of communications, Nomvula Mokonyane, requesting full details of the salary packages of the Group CEO, COO and CFO, including the process regarding the process followed in their employment.

In recent weeks, the DA has lambasted the SABC’s top management for taking home inflated salaries despite reporting financial woes at the public broadcaster.

The party has referred to the SABC’s 2017/18 annual report which was tabled in parliament. The party claims that the report reveals that for the year ending in March 2018, the SABC’s top management still earned highly inflated salaries.

According to the party, top management for the year ending 31 March 2018, earned exactly the same inflated salaries as during the Hlaudi Motsoeneng era.

The DA says the basic salary of the GCEO is R6.5 million, the CFO R4.1 million and the COO, R2.7 million. Group Executive salaries range from R3.8 million (Head of Television), to R3.5 million (Risk and Governance).

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.