The SOS Coalition has called on the State Investigation Unit to probe the SABC over its fruitless and wasteful expenditure, as recommended by Parliament.

The civil society organisation was commenting on the latest developments with regards to the public broadcaster, including the suspension of acting CEO, James Aguma and the disciplinary hearing of Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

SOS Coalition said it welcomes news concerning the interim board’s decision to suspend James Aguma from his position at the SABC, as it believe that this move is a significant step in the restoration of the public broadcaster’s governance and financial integrity.

“SOS also welcomes developments pertaining to Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s ongoing disciplinary process. Following his repeated attempts to stall the process and his continued disregard of due processes, we hope that Mr. Motsoeneng will allow the hearing to take place accordingly on Friday,” the organisation said.

“James Aguma’s and Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s behavior at the SABC can only be described as deplorable, and the antithesis of the public broadcaster’s values. The pair fostered a work environment that was hostile and provided fertile ground for acts of corruption, the sheer scale of which are being revealed to us daily.”

To ensure that the SABC retains its integrity and political independence during this critical moment and beyond, SOS recommended the following:

• The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to commence with the necessary investigations into fruitless and wasteful expenditure at the public broadcaster, as per the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee’s report and we call on the SIU to make the contents of their findings public;
• The Interim Board to conclude the disciplinary processes around Motsoeneng and Aguma as soon as possible
• Parliament to investigate the latest revelations as regards Muthambi and take swift action

“We note the emails released over the weekend that show the inappropriate and potentially criminal relationship between Muthambi and the now infamous Gupta family. It appears that Muthambi was sharing confidential cabinet memos with the Guptas about the work of her communications ministry,” SOS Coalition said.