"Mr Matthews was appointed to this position because of his credentials to steer the SABC towards a commendable direction. It is unfortunate that Mr Matthews decided to turn his resignation into a social media issue‚ without raising his concerns internally‚ nor communicating his concerns with the Ministry of Communications‚" her office said in a statement on Tuesday.

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"The timing of his resignation is suspect."

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She did not expand on this statement.

Instead‚ she added: "As Ministry of Communications we have full confidence in the Board of the SABC; that it will calm the situation and steer the broadcaster into the right direction. A stable and functional SABC is in the interest of all of us. We believe that normality will prevail."

Muthambi further lashed out at recent criticism of the SABC.

"The Ministry of Communications has noted media statements from various political parties‚ and some individuals that seek to politicise the SABC matters‚ and it is unfortunate that some are looking to score political points. The SABC coverage plans for the Local Government Elections 2016 are still in place and elections will be covered as scheduled‚" she asserted.

The SABC has had 10 CEOs‚ including those who served in an acting capacity‚ since 2009‚ according to Business Day.

Matthews‚ in his resignation letter‚ which was posted on Twitter‚ conceded that he had been “complicit in many decisions‚ which I am not proud of”.

He also said the turn of events at the broadcaster was wrong and he could no longer be part of it. He had for months compromised the values he held dear under the “mistaken belief” that he could effect change from inside the SABC‚ he said.

The SA National Editors Forum in a statement said on Monday that‚ with Matthews being one of the most senior officials of the corporation‚ him feeling that “there is a corrosive atmosphere that he as the CEO cannot do anything about‚ speaks volumes about corporate governance within the SABC”.

The SABC on Tuesday named James Aguma‚ formerly the SABC’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO)‚ as the new acting CEO.

Source: www.timeslive.co.za