Veteran journalist and SABC acting CEO Jimi Matthews has quit, saying in his resignation letter that what is happening at the state-owned broadcaster is “wrong” and that he can “no longer be a part of it”.
Matthews tweeted a copy of his resignation letter on Monday morning.
“It is with great sadness that I tender my immediate resignation,” he wrote in the letter, which is addressed to SABC board chairman Obert Maguvhe.
“For many months I have compromised the values that I hold dear under the mistaken belief that I could be more effective inside the SABC than outside, passing comment from the sidelines,” he wrote.
“In the process, the prevailing, corrosive atmosphere has impacted negatively on my moral judgment and has made me complicit in many decisions which I am not proud of,” he continued.
“I wish also to apologise to the many people who I’ve let down by remaining silent when my voice needed to be heard,” he wrote.
Matthews has been head of news at the SABC since 2012. He has also worked as head of news at e.tv and has had stints at Reuters and Telkom Media. — (c) 2016 NewsCentral Media
