Political interference claims prompt e.tv resignations

The report points out that investment group HCI is a controlling shareholder of e.tv through its Sabido Investments subsidiary. A report on the Fin24.com site says that Golding's resignation came hours after the Cape Town Labour Court ruled against him in his application to urgently interdict HCI over his suspension and disciplinary hearing. He reportedly told e.tv and eNCA staff he had been 'forced to resign'. In an e-mail which Fin24 says it has seen, Golding told staff: 'You are aware of the reports in the newspapers over the past few days and the fact that I was suspended and expected to face certain charges brought against me by HCI. I deny these charges. I am of the view that the manner in which HCI intended to conduct my hearing as well as the circumstances which led to the decision to bring charges against me has rendered my employment relationship with HCI intolerable. ...I have been forced to resign and I will in due course be bringing a claim of unfair dismissal (at the CCMA) on the grounds that I have been constructively dismissed.' Full report on the Fin24.com site

Annexed to Golding's Labour Court papers were e-mails and letters in support of his political influence claims. The Business Day report says these relate to the station's coverage of government infrastructure projects. In one of the letters director Yunus Shaik says e.tv had an 'agreement' with Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel to broadcast an event where President Jacob Zuma would open a new dam. Patel is a former general secretary of the SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu). The largest shareholder of HCI is Sactwu with a 32% stake, notes the report. In one of three regulatory statements yesterday, HCI said: 'We note the resignation of Barbara Hogan ... and express our somewhat surprise at the hostile manner in which it is couched and publicly distributed. We thank Barbara for her services to HCI and assure the public that, perhaps other than Marcel himself, no other board members see this matter similarly.' According to Bloomberg, Hogan's letter said Shaik had told her that Sactwu was frustrated that e.tv was not giving Patel enough coverage. 'I am mindful of the briefing that Yunis Shaik gave me when he claimed that Sactwu ... had lost patience with the editorial practices of e.tv, citing the failure to give prominent coverage to Patel's economic pronouncements,' she wrote in a letter dated 26 October. Full Business Day report (subscription needed)

Earlier, Golding lost his battle to avoid facing the disciplinary hearing over the unauthorised purchase of shares in electronics distributor Ellies. A BDlive report notes Labour Court Judge Anton Steenkamp ruled against Golding in his application for an urgent interdict to stop his disciplinary hearing and suspension on the grounds that it was unlawful. Steenkamp ruled the disciplinary action was not unlawful and that an employee should pursue the remedies prescribed by the Labour Relations Act. Steenkamp said Golding bought R24m worth of Ellies shares in March, but did not disclose the purchase to the board of HCI or its subsidiary Sabido. One of Sabido's subsidiaries is a free-to-air satellite TV broadcaster and is dependent on the set-top boxes distributed by Ellies. The shares were held in a nominee account at Investec. Although Investec is HCI's securities broker and primary banker, Golding said the shares were held in the nominee account for the benefit of Sabido. 'Golding only informed (HCI CEO John) Copelyn and (HCI finance director Kevin) Govender of the share purchase on 6 August 2014, on the eve of a Sabido board meeting. They did not support the purchase. It is that share purchase without authorisation that led to the pending disciplinary hearing that lies at the heart of this application,' Steenkamp ruled. Full BDlive report

Golding had attempted to show that the inquiry was unlawful because, he argued, it was initiated by HCI, according to a Moneyweb report. It says Golding argued that the relevant employer in this case was Sabido and e.tv - and by implication it is the boards of these two companies who should discipline him, if necessary. While acknowledging that Sabido and e.tv employ Golding, the judge added that this did not mean he was not also employed by HCI. In this case, HCI was the ultimate employer - notably because it paid Golding's salary. Thus, on the basis that he is an employee of HCI, the judge found that to discipline him was not unlawful. He added: 'I express no view on the merits of the allegations of misconduct.' Full Moneyweb report

Steenkamp said Golding's claims about interference in the editorial independence of e.tv were serious, and, on the face of it, not without substance, notes a report on the Fin24.com site. 'It is indeed startling and harks back to the tragic time in our history when Ministers of the apartheid regime sometimes dictated the contents of news broadcasts on the SABC, that a director of HCI should suggest to the directors of e.tv what they should carry as a lead story on the evening news at the behest of a Cabinet Minister,' he said. Full report on the Fin24.com site