As the country moves towards the 2024 general elections, former SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng said his African Content Movement (ACM) had snubbed several political parties who sought to join forces with it in a bid to dethrone the ruling ANC.

These parties included former president Jacob Zuma’s newly formed uMkhonto Wesizwe party and Ace Magashule’s African Congress for Transformation, according to Motsoeneng. The parties had not responded to requests for comment at the time of writing. 

Motsoeneng said it was important for him to keep his eyes on the prize as he had intensified his campaign for becoming Free State’s next premier, although he also mentioned he was aiming to become a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly.

“People who want to team up tell me that they do not have a vision for South Africa. I believe we must fight the ANC as individual parties. I don’t believe we should be coming together; next thing there is fights for positions,” he said. 

Motsoeneng believes his party has grown in the Free State and he’s personally ‘mastered the art of politics’. (Photo: Gallo Images / Beeld / Felix Dlangamandla)

Motsoeneng was sacked by the SABC in 2017. Nearly five years after being found guilty of bringing the SABC into disrepute and causing irreparable damage, the cloud still hangs over his head. In his report on the State Capture commission, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo noted Motsoeneng’s “gross abuse of power” at the SABC and recommended the NPA consider charging him over the public broadcaster’s deals with The New Age.

In January 2023, the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg ordered Motsoeneng to pay back a R11.5-million “success fee” he received from the former SABC board in 2016. He took the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) which also ruled against him. 

A year after the decision, Motsoeneng insists he will not pay back the money, but will instead exhaust all available legal avenues. 

“No, I am not going to pay anything,” he confidently said, indicating that not only was he challenging the court decision, but he had also taken the public broadcaster to court in a bid to claim R22-million from it.

Keeping it local

In an interview with Daily Maverick, Motsoeneng said the decision to venture into politics and launch a political party in 2018, four months before the 2019 national and provincial elections, was so he could keep himself busy.

“I was not really serious and at the time, I did not even understand the art of politics.”

He was dealt a blow when ACM did not garner enough support to make it to the National Assembly, winning a total of only 4,841 votes, or 0.03%.

Not all was lost, however, as ACM made some inroads in his municipality, Maluti-a-Phofung, and managed to secure two council seats in the 2021 local government elections.

Motsoeneng says there is nothing wrong with the ANC, ‘the problem is the kind of people they put to lead’. (Photo: Gallo Images / Beeld / Felix Dlangamandla)

Motsoeneng opted not to take any councillor positions and deployed his members because he believed sitting in council meetings was a waste of time as he wanted total control.  

“I want to take decisions and change people’s lives, but just to go there [council] and talk? I will be wasting my time. I want to be elected so I am in charge and people can hold me accountable for anything that goes wrong.”

Maluti-a-Phofung is part of the Thabo Mofutsanyane District in the eastern part of the Free State province. Its principal towns are Harrismith, Phuthaditjhaba and Witsieshoek. It has 353,453 residents, of whom 186,144 are registered voters, according to the Census.

It is one of the most dysfunctional councils in the province and is beset by problems including lack of service delivery, corruption, and councillors who fail to attend municipal public accounts committee meetings, where oversight of public funds is conducted.

Following the 2021 elections, no party won an outright majority. A movement known as MAP-16, which was formed by former ANC councillors expelled from the party for speaking against corruption, clinched 20 seats and formed a coalition with parties such as EFF, Dikwankwetla Party of South Africa, ATM, Sarko, Aula and AIC – leaving the ANC in the opposition benches.   

Five years later, Motsoeneng believes his party has grown in the province, and he’s personally “mastered the art of politics”. It is for this reason, coupled with a lack of finances, that he has taken a decision not to contest the elections countrywide but only in his province, and nationally.

“I’m contesting the Free State because I believe charity begins at home. I want to make a difference here, to set the standard and then elsewhere.”

A branded car with the face of former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng during the 2019 election. (Photo: Facebook)

With about 45,000 votes needed for a parliamentary seat, he was unfazed. 

“I am confident that I will get a seat in Parliament because I am loved across South Africa, therefore people will vote for me. If I had the financial resources, I would contest everywhere again.” 

Priorities not policies

On rejecting proposals for partnerships ahead of the elections, he said, “To be honest, I’m not going to partner or go into coalition with anyone until the elections, because I believe that people of South Africa deserve better, but they can only get what they want if they vote for me.”

Unlike many small political formations, Motsoeneng has no appetite for coalition governments and believes they are a “recipe for disaster”, despite evidence showing they have worked in other countries.

“South African problems are different than all the countries in the world so why must we copy what they are doing? I do not believe in being a copycat.” 

ACM has neither a manifesto nor specific policies, but priorities.

“I don’t need a manifesto to run my household. All that our people need is water, proper roads, but the first priority for me is employment because I don’t believe people of SA must depend on grants. A few of them can depend on grants like the disabled and elderly.”

“For me, it is insulting for South Africans. I get shocked every time President Ramaphosa celebrates that he gives people R350 and they must vote for the ANC. That is really nonsensical,” Motsoeneng said.  

In the 2021/22 financial year, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke identified Maluti-a-Phofung as one of the worst-performing municipalities in the country. The situation was so dire that it was issued with a disclaimer audit opinion – the worst a municipality can have.  

It was also one of the municipalities that the AG referred to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) for further investigation. 

Motsoeneng concurred with the findings of the AG, adding that among the most pressing issues in the municipality were a lack of service delivery, unemployment, lack of infrastructure such as roads, and load-shedding. Asked if he blamed the ANC for the erosion, as the party had been in charge of the municipality for more than two decades, he put the blame squarely on its public representatives.

“There is nothing wrong with the ANC, the problem is the kind of people they put to lead. The people they deployed at Maluti have really messed up the municipality. It is so painful because all they had to do was maintain what was already there, but instead, they are blaming apartheid.” 

“So I want to make sure that the area where I come from, the area that I know best, I want to start there to change the lives of people, to improve their lives and ensure that there is service delivery,” said Motsoeneng.  

With a few months left before the country heads to the polls, Motsoeneng accused the ruling party of introducing service delivery initiatives in a bid to woo voters. For this reason, voters ought to punish it dearly, he said.  

“The problem again is that the ANC delivers during the elections. The people must really punish the ANC for that.” DM