Chris Maroleng has officially been appointed as the new chief operating officer of the SABC and will start work on this Thursday, 1 February, SABC News Online said in a tweet on Tuesday.
His appointment comes despite apparent objections by communications minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, who said in a statement earlier this month that she had “no knowledge of any official appointment”.
“The minister of communications has noted the media reports about the appointment of a chief operating officer at the SABC,” she said in the statement, which was issued on 15 January.
“The minister wishes to advise the media that all appointments of the chief operating officer, CEO and chief financial officer of state-owned entities are done through cabinet processes and therefore the announcements of the outcome are made by cabinet.”
She added that it was the minister’s responsibility to present any appointment of executives of state-owned enterprises that fall under the department of communications through cabinet processes.
The SABC’s Twitter account, @SABCNewsOnline, posted a message on Tuesday afternoon saying that Maroleng had now been appointed to the position.
SABC television news later reported that the board had appointed him to the position. Watch the clip below:
Maroleng, who joined MTN Group in 2014 as head of corporate affairs, will replace the controversial Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who left the SABC last year under a cloud. — (c) 2018 NewsCentral Media