Former SABC chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng and several former executives are facing a fresh legal battle after the public broadcaster and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) launched legal proceedings to recover more than R2.4m paid to musicians under a controversial “music legends” project approved during his tenure.
Court papers filed in the Special Tribunal show the SABC and SIU want the payments declared unlawful and are seeking an order compelling Motsoeneng and nine former executives to repay the money in their personal capacities.
While responding papers are yet to be filed, Motsoeneng told the Sunday Times this week the payments were not unlawful, as he had fundraised the money. He claimed the legal action was “politically motivated”.
The papers cite former executives Audrey Raphela, Solly Motsweni, Leslie Ntloko, Nomsa Philiso, Simon Tebele, Bessie Tugwana, Tshifiwa Mulaudzi, Nompumelelo Phasha and former acting group CEO James Aguma as co-respondents alongside Motsoeneng.
Attached annexures list several musicians identified as beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries of the project, including Abigail Kubeka, Blondie Makhene, Rebecca Malope, Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse and Yvonne Chaka Chaka.
In a founding affidavit deposed by SIU chief forensic investigator Mariette Amanda Dreyer, the SIU argues that the payments were conceived by Motsoeneng, implemented without a proper policy framework and amounted to unlawful and irrational expenditure of public funds.
“It appears that the music legend payments were conceived ... [by] Motsoeneng,” Dreyer states in the affidavit.
The SABC is a policy-orientated entity, meaning that it cannot act or incur an expenditure in the absence of an approved policy or directive within the SABC
— Affidavit
According to the affidavit, Motsoeneng met with SABC group executives in 2016, and plans to reward artists identified as “music legends” were discussed. Dreyer says the SABC operations committee approved the proposal in September 2016 and adopted a business case supporting the payments.
“The purpose of the business case was to motivate for the payment of the music legends,” the affidavit reads. “It is noted that the payments were to be paid as an incentive for supporting the SABC and also to compensate the music legends who did not receive needle time royalties prior to 1996.”
The affidavit states that the original proposal contemplated paying 215 artists and choirs R50,000 each at a projected cost of R10.75m. However, only 53 artists were ultimately paid, bringing the total amount disbursed to R2,425,000.
“The SABC is a policy-orientated entity, meaning that it cannot act or incur an expenditure in the absence of an approved policy or directive within the SABC,” the affidavit states. “The payment of music legends is not catered for in the delegation authority framework (DAF) because there is no policy authorising it.”
The SIU also argues that the decision-making process was fundamentally flawed because there were no objective criteria used to determine who qualified as a “music legend”.
“It was purely based on the subjective opinions of the certain radio managers,” Dreyer states. “There was no framework or guideline in place that outlined how music legends would be considered and on what basis.”
According to the affidavit, there was also no financial planning process to determine whether the broadcaster could afford the payments.
“There was no budget drawn up, and there was no determination of the funds available,” Dreyer says.
The affidavit alleges that internal finance officials warned that the payments were not budgeted for and that the matter did not form part of the broadcaster’s approved annual financial plan.
I came up with the funds myself after visiting artists and seeing that some of them could not even afford basic necessities in life. They deserved that money. It was the most humane thing to do
— Hlaudi Motsoeneng, former SABC chief operations officer
Dreyer says the payments were ultimately processed through savings from another SABC cost centre.
The SIU further attacks the method used to process the payments, claiming the broadcaster used its “prize winner” system despite there being no policy allowing musicians to be paid in that way.
Dreyer says the SIU believes the former executives should be held personally liable because they either knew, or ought to have known, that the payments were unlawful.
Approached for comment, Motsoeneng defended the payments, insisting the money was raised through his own fundraising efforts.
“I came up with the funds myself after visiting artists and seeing that some of them could not even afford basic necessities in life. They deserved that money. It was the most humane thing to do,” he said.
“The minutes of the SABC meetings during that period reflect the discussions around the fundraising efforts and the support for artists.”
Motsoeneng is active in politics as president of the African Content Movement (ACM), the small political party he launched in 2018.
He maintains that he played a central role in stabilising the financially troubled SABC during his tenure and said he had to secure funding to keep the broadcaster operational.
Motsoeneng insisted the “legends” initiative was undertaken with the knowledge of his executive team.
“I can’t tell you where the money came from, but it was done together with my team,” he said.
Motsoeneng is fighting several legal battles linked to his time at the SABC, including SIU attempts to recover money tied to the unlawful R11.5m “success fee” and other disputed payments
Motsoeneng suggested that the legal action was politically motivated and aimed at diverting attention from his political ambitions ahead of the November elections.
“I know what they are trying to do. I am fully focused on the African Content Movement and the upcoming elections,” he said.
The latest legal battle comes as the parties are also embroiled in separate taxation proceedings linked to the matter. Court papers show former SABC group executive for corporate affairs Bessie Tugwana, cited as the seventh respondent, has already filed objections to portions of the legal bill, disputing several charges and alleging duplication and excessive fees.
The taxation documents, filed in the high court in Johannesburg, run across dozens of pages and include charges for:
- consultations;
- affidavits;
- preparation of court bundles;
- counsel fees; and
- case management meetings.
Nearly a decade after the payments were approved, the SABC and SIU are now attempting to claw back the millions paid out under one of the most controversial projects associated with the Motsoeneng era.
Motsoeneng is fighting several legal battles linked to his time at the SABC, including SIU attempts to recover money tied to the unlawful R11.5m “success fee” and other disputed payments.
The “success fee” case relates to a controversial bonus paid to Motsoeneng in 2016 after the SABC claimed it had achieved a financial turnaround under his leadership.
The payment sparked outrage because it was approved despite ongoing findings against him by the public protector and courts over governance failures at the broadcaster.
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