Air the laundry
August 30, 2005
By the Editor
Dali Mpofu has been the SABC boss for just over 20 days - and he's facing his first crisis. How he handles it may yet set the pace for his future dealings with senior staff.
Initial anger that the corporation might have suppressed footage of a pro-Jacob Zuma crowd booing Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has now turned to national outrage. Allegations are that the SABC lied when it said its cameraman had arrived late to the event, or that he had decided that the footage was "irrelevant" - and had thus been fired.
The aggrieved cameraman - backed up by e.tv footage which appears to show he was indeed at the event all the time, as he claims he was - is considering legal action. Should he be proved right, we believe the SABC owes the nation an apology.
No matter the outcome, this incident is still a serious embarrassment. The corporation's detractors may, with unusual fortitude, now ask whether it is indeed a state, rather than a public, broadcaster. And if it is shown to have manipulated the facts, it may have broken its own code of conduct - and heads will surely have to roll.
Mpofu must take control of this issue as soon as possible, or it will reflect poorly on his leadership. The SABC has turned a handsome profit, but this threatens to sour its image considerably.
