News24.com | SABC board: Scathing legal opinion on Ramaphosa's unlawful conduct 'neither here nor there' - Presidency

The SABC's Durban offices.

• President Cyril Ramaphosa did everything to ensure candidates for SABC board appointment were compliant, says his spokesperson.
• In December, the president was given a list of people to be appointed to the board, as required by law.
• But Ramaphosa has been delaying appointment.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was duty-bound to ensure all was above board when he reconsidered the list of names submitted to him for appointment to the SABC board.

This according to his spokesperson Vincent Magwenya who briefed journalists on the matter on Wednesday.

"When the submission was made to the president, there were areas that required clarification.

"Before the president puts his signature to a bill or appointment it is important that he fully satisfies himself with the process that was undertaken and with the substantive issues, the constitutionality of the exercise, but more importantly the legality of the exercise," Magwenya said.

In December, the president was given a list of people to be appointed to the SABC board, as required by law.

There was great urgency in Ramaphosa signing off on the board appointments because the public broadcaster has been without one for five months.

This means crucial decisions on the functioning of the SABC cannot be taken.

Last week, Parliament's legal advisor, Andile Tetyana, who assessed the letter which Ramaphosa wrote to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on 9 March, said the president acted unlawfully.

READ | Ramaphosa 'acted unlawfully' in questioning list of SABC board members, Parliament hears

According to Magwenya, Ramaphosa was duty bound to ensure all processes, which were undertaken, were conducted in accordance with "our constitutional prescripts".

"There was nothing wrong on the part of the president in seeking clarification. There were objections that were received by the president and those were also sent to the minister's office.

"It was also important for the president how those objections were treated. The scathing nature of the legal opinion is neither here nor there," he said.

In a statement on Wednesday, Parliament's spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, said Mapisa-Nqakula had responded to Ramaphosa.

"The president had enquired about the legal status of the additional three names on the list of board nominees approved by the [National] Assembly last year.

"On the speaker's request, the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies reflected on the president's inquiry and sought a legal opinion, resulting in a conclusion that the speaker has now conveyed to the president," he added.

Mothapo said: "The speaker has confirmed that the resolution adopted by the National Assembly last year is lawful and that the president is not precluded from selecting a candidate from the reserve pool of three names in case any of the 12 names are not legally appointable."

The law states Ramaphosa should be given a list of 12 names he must appoint to the board.

Included in this list was a reserve pool of candidates that could be considered should one of the recommended people be unable to take up their position on the board.

Ramaphosa raised concerns about the unavailability of one of the recommended candidates, Professor Franz Krüger.

But even with Krüger's withdrawal, the president had a choice of reserve pool names, which were ranked and which he could pick from to replace Krüger.