• The SABC has appointed a new interim CEO in Nada Wotshela as outgoing Madoda Mxakwe’s contract term comes to an end.
• The state broadcaster has long been dysfunctional, operating without a board of directors until just a few months ago.
• Wotshela has been serving as the SABC’s chief executive for its radio arm for nearly six years now.

South Africa’s embattled state broadcaster has appointed a new group chief executive, as current leader Madoda Mxakwe’s contract comes to an end. A press release from the SABC indicates that it will be promoting Nada Wotshela, pictured in the cover image above, to acting group CEO.

Wotshela will assume the top spot of the SABC effective 1st July 2023 whilst the recruitment of a new group CEO is underway at the government firm. Mxakwe’s has served as the group CEO for the last five years, according to his LinkedIn, assuming the post in 2018.

In March, Mxakwe told government that the SABC has been dysfunctional for some time since it has been operating without a board of directors since October 2022. In April, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a new group of directors for the next five years.

“The Board is confident of Ms. Wotshela’s abilities in steering the public broadcaster during this time. We implore on the SABC’s stakeholders, internally and externally, to support her during this period,” the newly appointed directors said in a statement.

“Ms. Wotshela is a seasoned broadcaster with more than 20 years working experience at the SABC with 12 of these years in senior management and executive roles. She possesses both the technical knowledge and the leadership skills of public broadcasting and is currently serving as Group Executive for Radio at the SABC.”

The SABC, despite its enormous reach of viewers across the country, has struggled to be profitable. In 2019, government approved bailing out the corporation to the tune of R3.2 billion. The company’s insistence on relying on TV license payments for its profitability continued to prove unsuitable, with the latest financials painting a grim picture of a R600 million net loss in May 2022.

As for Wotshela, she has a huge task ahead, even if her appointment is only in the interim. For nearly six years she has served as the group executive for SABC radio. She has a degrees in management from the Wits Business School, and has previously studied at the University of Fort Hare.

[Image – Broadcast Media Africa]