At its first meeting for the year, the committee outlined the process of appointing the interim board, which MPs hoped to get underway in the following week.

A number of SABC board members resigned while an ad hoc committee was looking into the board’s fitness to hold office.

The communications committee has now been tasked with finding members to fill five positions in the interim board for a period of up to six months.

African National Congress MP Mziwamadoda Kalako suggested that political parties each suggest names which would then be discussed at a committee meeting.

“This is very much urgent, I would plead we quickly do that and propose those names. The board is not there, and whatever is happening now at the SABC, it’s only the executive which takes decisions,” he said, adding that whatever decisions are made by the executive would be difficult to reverse.

Chief whips to decide on names

Economic Freedom Fighters MP Floyd Shivambu suggested that it be left to the chief whips’ forum.

“I wanted to suggest that we perhaps subject the process or consultation of names to the chief whips, instead of us coming with so many names here and discussing them. Because we are not even interviewing those people,” he said.

It would not be difficult for the chief whips to establish common ground and agree on five names, he said.

His suggestion was agreed to by committee members. Possible board members would be discussed at the next chief whips’ meeting, thereafter the names would be brought to the committee for adoption.

The committee would then take the names to the National Assembly. DM