The SABC could have an interim board by early next month, with
indications that it might include trade unionists Randall Howard and
Cunningham Ngcukana, writes Mmanalegi Mataboge in the Mail & Guardian.
The ANC, Cosatu and the South African Communist Party also want the chief executive of SABC news, Snuki Zikalala, replaced after the board has been dissolved.
The name of Phil Molefe, currently general manager of international affairs, has been mentioned as a possible replacement.
The ANC and its allies are pushing for an interim board to be in place by early December. They allegedly plan to use aspects of the SABC's annual report, which it will present to Parliament next Tuesday, to mount a no-confidence motion.
ANC parliamentary caucus spokesperson Khotso Khumalo told The Sunday Independent last week that Parliament "is going to get rid of the board". He told the Mail & Guardian that he "said that, and I stick to my views".
SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande also made it clear that his party wants the board to step down immediately. "We cannot allow [it] to continue even for a day," said Nzimande, addressing a public debate on the SABC at Wits University this week.
The M&G has been told that the new board will include public figures recommended by Parliament's communications committee and overlooked by former president Thabo Mbeki.
Among them are Howard, general secretary of Cosatu's transport union, Satawu; Ngcukana, former general secretary of the National Council of Trade Unions; and Sizwe Shezi, a trustee of the Jacob Zuma RDP Trust.
A reliable source predicted a "memorable" showdown between Parliament and the board next Tuesday when the board presents its annual report to the portfolio committee. "It'll be a rowdy meeting," the source said, as board members felt ANC MPs had intimidated them for too long.
Click here to read the full report, posted on M&G Online.