Pretoria- The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed with costs an application by former SABC Chief Operations Officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, to appeal an order declaring the decision of the then SABC board to pay him R11.5 million as unlawful and invalid.
In August 2016, Motsoeneng received a substantial bonus for securing a contentious agreement with MultiChoice, which granted the pay-TV giant access to the SABC archives.
In February 2018, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) was given a task of recouping the broadcaster’s financial losses.
The matter went to court and the South Gauteng High Court ordered Motsoeneng to pay back the money within seven days to the SABC.
Unhappy with the outcome, he took the matter to the SCA for an appeal.
However, on 19 January, the SCA also ruled against Motsoeneng.
Justices Van Der Merwe and Kathree-Setiloane dismissed the application on the grounds that there was no reasonable prospect of success in an appeal and there was no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.
Motsoeneng has been ordered to repay R11 508 549.12 within seven days of the order, with interest at the rate of 15.5% per annum calculated from 13 September 2016 to date of payment, according to the high court ruling.
In the event Motsoeneng fails to pay within seven days, the SABC Pension Fund is ordered to pay the amount to the SABC or all the pension proceeds where the pension proceeds do not amount to R11 508 549.12.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the unit welcomes the decision by the SCA as it paves the way for the unit to recover the financial losses suffered by the SABC.
IOL