Sunday, March 23, 2014

SABC fires Gugu Duda as acting chief financial officer - replaced with James Aguma; Tian Olivier is the new acting CEO as stop-gap measure.


The spate of dismissals and firings of top executives seen the past half a decade at the SABC continues as a running theme at the South African public broadcaster which summarily fired its acting chief financial officer Gugu Duda and replaced her with James Aguma.

After Lulama Mokhobo dumped the SABC as CEO in February after finishing just two years of her five year contract and after the SABC couldn't say who the new acting CEO is since March, Tian Olivier (pictured) is now the acting CEO as a stop-gap measure at the broadcaster.

Since 2008 the SABC's senior management has been in a constant state of unstable flux, with senior executives constantly being hired and fired at top level, including resignations, dismissals, draw-out labour court disputes and multi-million rand payouts by the SABC due to unfair dismissals, golden handshakes and to simply get rid of former executives after relationships turned acrimonious.

A new year at the SABC means new executives and new executives in acting positions.

The SABC has not yet advertised the position of chief financial officer for a permanent replacement (with the famously matricless Hlaudli Motsoeneng in the position) - a position which has not been filled by the SABC since 2006 and for the past seven years.

However James Aguma now assumes the position of acting CFO. He is an Ugandan chartered accountant.

Gugu Duda, a chartered accountant, has been dismissed and sent packing on Wednesday. She was suspended in September 2012 at the SABC in relation to procurement and financial irregularities.

Tian Olivier has himself been the acting chief financial officer at the SABC before. James Aguma joined the SABC in 2013 as the general manager for strategy and governance in Hlaudi Motsoeneng's office.

Tian Olivier has also been the head of audience services at the SABC. "It is imperative that at this stage we provide support to the two acting executives who have just been appointed," says Ellen Tshabala, the SABC board chairperson in a statement.