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Power outage trips up SABC's CTO

Martin Czernowalow
By Martin Czernowalow, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 24 Nov 2014
Three consecutive days of broadcasting interruptions allegedly led to the suspension of the SABC's chief technology officer.
Three consecutive days of broadcasting interruptions allegedly led to the suspension of the SABC's chief technology officer.

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) this morning refused to comment on the suspension of its chief technology officer (CTO), Sipho Masinga.

However, concerns have been raised that this could potentially be another hurdle in SA's troublesome digital migration process.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago confirmed Masinga had been suspended pending an investigation, but refused to be drawn on reasons for the move, or details of the investigation. "I can confirm the group executive has been suspended, but we will not be making a statement."

According to media reports this weekend, Masinga was recently suspended after he allegedly wrote a report in which he blamed interruptions in SABC's service on old and malfunctioning infrastructure.

However, Kganyago this morning accused the media of trying to "lure the SABC into making public statements" about an internal matter. He also refused to comment on Masinga's report or when the investigation would be wrapped up.

Power failures

However, Broadcast, Electronic Media and Allied Workers Union president Hannes du Buisson says Masinga's suspension came about as a result of power failures that knocked out the SABC's ability to broadcast.

He says the failures occurred over three consecutive days and took the SABC's TV and radio services off air for a few hours each day, as backup power generators failed to kick in. "There are problems with equipment at the SABC.

"There is a lot of renovation going on [at the broadcaster's offices], but no money is being invested in equipment and technology," notes Du Buisson, whose union is the largest labour organisation at the SABC.

He notes Masinga was requested to explain the outages, and wrote a report in which he blamed the problems on outdated and broken equipment and infrastructure. The report was subsequently handed to controversially-appointed COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who suspended Masinga.

'Very worrying'

Independent broadcast analyst Kate Skinner says she is aware there are problems with infrastructure at the SABC's provincial offices, but says a lot more information is needed about Masinga's suspension to understand the full picture.

"If this [infrastructure failure] is true - and there is some evidence that it is - then it is incredibly worrying. We are supposed to be moving into the digital age, and are being told that all is in place for broadcast digital migration, so this is a huge concern."

Skinner notes the country can ill afford any further problems with its stalled digital migration process, which is currently awaiting policy approval from Cabinet. "Normally, the public broadcaster plays a leading role in a country's digital migration process. The international deadline is looming, so we really don't need this right now."

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