Hlaudi Motsoeneng refuses to pay back SABC millions

As 2023 draws to a close, former SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng still has not paid back all the money he owes the corporation, and appears recalcitrant about doing so.

Motsoeneng told TechCentral on Monday that he does not accept the supreme court of appeal’s (SCA’s) dismissal, with costs, of his application appealing an earlier high court judgment that the SABC’s payments to him of R11.5-million were “unlawful and invalid”.

He said he believes the SCA order was wrong, and is challenging it. “My lawyers have gone back to the SCA for a reconsideration” because the high court judge was “wrong in the law and the facts”, and the SCA has accepted his plea for reconsideration.

“The SABC does not have a leg to stand on,” he said. “There is a notion among the public that I was paid from public money, but that was money that I raised for the SABC. When I got to the SABC, it was in trouble financially – I took it from R400-million on the books to R1.4-billion [in cash], with R8-billion in revenue.”

Motsoeneng said that when he left the SABC in 2016, the money coming in decreased because the people who were left there “couldn’t do what I was doing”.

“They didn’t know how to run it. They are unskilled.”

SABC acting group executive for corporate affairs Mmoni Seapolelo told TechCentral in response to questions about Motsoeneng’s repayment of the money: “The SABC can confirm that the corporation has made great strides in the multiple cases relating to the recovery of funds from Mr Motsoeneng.

‘They’re crazy’

“Out of the three cases [against him], the corporation has fully recovered funds relating to one case and partial payments were made in the other two cases. The SABC will continue to work with the authorities to ensure that full recovery of funds is realised in all the concerned matters.”

But Motsoeneng said he has not paid back a cent and nor does he intend to.

“They’re crazy! Remember, I have put in a counterclaim for R22-million,” he said. “It is what I am owed. I never took the decision to pay myself; it was the previous board that recognised my hard work. They are probably referring to the fact that they are still withholding my pension to recover what they say I owe,” he said.

Read: Hlaudi Motsoeneng ordered to pay back the money

In January, the SCA dismissed with costs Motsoeneng’s appeal of the high court’s decision that the SABC’s payment to him of the R11.5-million was “unlawful and invalid”.

The then-SABC board took a decision to pay Motsoeneng a “success fee” for clinching a deal with MultiChoice Group for broadcast rights; and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigating financial irregularities at the SABC found evidence of appointments and payments awarded by him that were suspicious.

The SIU found that R2.5-million was paid to more than 100 musicians, which Motsoeneng said was to show “gratitude” to some of the country’s musical legends. But the SIU said they were “irregular” in nature.

In December 2021, the high court ordered Motsoeneng to repay the amount paid to him as a success fee within seven days of the order, with interest at the rate of 15.5%/year calculated from 13 September 2016 to date of payment.

The SABC’s group CEO at the time of the high court judgment, Madoda Mxakwe, welcomed it and said: “This judgment bears testimony to the SABC’s commitment to addressing corporate governance failures of the past, while ensuring monies due to the corporation are recovered. We are confident that this judgment demonstrates progress in the SABC’s turnaround journey.”

But Motsoeneng took his case on appeal, which the SCA then dismissed on grounds that there was no prospect of its success and no compelling reason for the appeal. The SIU said the SCA’s dismissal of his appeal “paved the way for the unit to recover the financial losses suffered by the SABC because of unlawful and invalid decisions” made in the past.  – © 2023 NewsCentral Media

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