Four SABC executives suspended

Friday, October 16, 2009

Pretoria - The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) interim board has suspended four members of the broadcaster's executive management.

The national broadcaster reported on Friday that the suspensions followed investigations conducted by the Auditor General (AG) and other parties.

The four members are the Chief Financial Officer Robin Nicholson, Group Executive: Content Enterprises Mvuzo Mbebe, Head of Audience Services Anton Heunis and the Head of Group Procurement Mabela Satekge.

"The interim board would like to stress that the suspension of the four senior executives does not in any way imply that any conclusions have been reached on whether or not there has been any wrong doing by any of the executives or other staff members," it said in a statement.

Board chairperson Irene Charnley said the board is committed to ensuring that due process in relation to disciplinary processes is followed.

"It is important that the integrity of the process is upheld and that the matters are handled fairly in order to protect both the corporation's interests and those of the individuals involved. The process will therefore be adjudicated by independent and external parties."

The AG investigation, which looked into supply chain management, found evidence of millions of Rands in fruitless, wasteful and irregular spending at the SABC.

When the report was released by the AG, the Communications Ministry expressed concern over its details of the 72-page report that found irregular expenditure at the corporation.