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The SABC will be turning the spotlight on itself this coming month as it begins investigations into allegations of editorial interference and sexual harassment in two separate commissions of inquiry.
Acting group chief executive Nomsa Philiso made the announcement on Thursday, saying that the investigations were part of “fixing what’s wrong before it festers”.
“For the SABC, integrity of news is key and while we’re in a phase of renewal in the newsrooms, we also want to future-proof them to make sure some mistakes of the past don’t happen again,” she said.
For the editorial inquiry, the commission, which will be led by executive director of the Press Council Joe Thloloe, will look into the periods between 2012-2018, as that is where, according to Philiso, the “wheels may have started to fall off”.
“We will look at the news diaries of those periods and whether there was – aside from political interference – any commercial, non-governmental organisation, or pressure group interference,” she said.
Regarding sexual harassment, Philiso said they were looking to cover a broad spectrum of issues and complaints – ranging from unwelcome gestures to rumours of sex for jobs solicitations.
Philiso stated: “It’s important for us to endure absolute confidentiality and to determine the veracity of rumours that have been doing the rounds.
"For us, it’s about addressing the rumours that have been festering and not leaving them unattended.”
She added that the commissions would be corporate-wide endeavours that were not inquisitorial, but aimed at assisting the corporation to deal with serious instances of “abuse of power”.
A call to action will begin as of Friday, June 1, in which staff and affected parties will be able to send emails, logging their issues. The inquiries begin on June 18.
Philiso said they hoped to have a draft report ready by early August on the preliminary findings from the commissions.
