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The South African Broadcasting Corporation has announced that Ian Plaatjes will serve in the position of chief operating officer, the position once occupied by disgraced former COO, Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
The SABC announced the news through a statement on Wednesday afternoon. SABC spokesperson Vuyo Mthembu told Fin24 that it was a permanent appointment and that Plaatjies would serve in the position from the first of November.
Motsoeneng’s tenure at the SABC was riddled with scandal, which was captured in former public protector Thuli Madonsela's report into the matter released in early 2014. Among other things, the report highlighted irregular appointments, promotions, pay hikes and editorial interference.
Plaatjes joins the SABC from the SA Bureau of Standards, where he was chief digital officer for the past three years. Before that, he was chief information officer of the chief-in-transit company SBV.
He also worked as Absa as chief operation officer for group payments and as head of retail bank change and systems. He did an MBA at the University of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. In his free time, Plaatjies worked as a volunteer at the counselling service Life Line for fifteen years.
Plaatjies will replace the acting COO Craig van Rooyen who resigned for personal and family reasons in August. Van Rooyen was appointed after the previous COO, former MTN spokesperson Chris Maroleng, was fired for gross negligence.
According to City Press, the main allegation against Maroleng is that he protected the company's former group executive for sport Marcia Mahlalela, who came under fire for her appointment of Robert Marawa to SABC radio allegedly without following due process.
