Hlaudi Motsoeneng says he was told that he was so talented that he didn’t need a matric to work at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
He was appearing at the state capture commission of inquiry on Tuesday when he made the claim.
The former SABC chief operating officer (COO) said he was “headhunted” for his first position at the state broadcaster in 1995.
He said he declared upfront that he didn’t have a matric and took serious exception to those who claim he lied about having one.
It is an insult for people to say that I have lied about matric. It is a very serious issue to me, chairperson.
Hlaudi Motsoeneng
Motsoeneng added that SABC’s head of current affairs at the time told him he didn’t need a matric because of his talent.
He said to me, ‘But you’re so talented. I don’t think I need a matric for you to work at SABC.’
Hlaudi Motsoeneng
He admitted that he wrote matric at the age of 23, but failed it.
In 2014, former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found that Motsoeneng had misrepresented his matric qualifications to the SABC.
‘People skills’
On Monday, former SABC chairman Ben Ngubane said Motsoeneng had “people skills” which SABC needed when he was appointed acting COO in 2011.
He said SABC was technically insolvent at the time and thus needed a communicator to rally unions and staff behind a turnaround plan.
Hlaudi was seen as a troubleshooter – he was very proactive – with all issues that came up he would be there, hands on.
Ben Ngubane
Ngubane’s term as SABC chairman coincided with Motsoeneng’s controversial term as COO.