Metro FM sports presenter Robert Marawa is facing the axe from the SABC after he abstained from work this week.
Marawa dumped his work in solidarity with his producer Beverly Maphangwa who was suspended by the SABC, allegedly for playing SuperSport content on the Metro FM sports show despite instructions from management advising her not to do so.
As a result, Maphangwa was allegedly ordered by SABC management to provide reasons why she should not be suspended on Thursday.
Marawa refused to work with a producer who was appointed by management to run the show while Maphangwa was on suspension.
He took his fight to social media and tweeted: “My producer Beverly Maphangwa has been suspended 4 ‘non compliance/contravention of contract’. The crime? We played audio by Sizwe Mabena.
“I told management that I removed myself from the show because I am the one that actually caused this crime. So I will not be on 2nite.”
Sunday World learned that SABC’s group executive for sports Sully Motsweni was not happy with Marawa’s behaviour and informed senior executives that she plans to summon Marawa to a meeting tomorrow where she intends to serve him with a letter of termination of his contract for “misconduct”.
It is understood that all the executives, including acting group CEO Tsheliso Ralitabo and acting general manager for radio Orapeleng Lebethe, have endorsed her decision.
Marawa told Sunday World that he has no knowledge about tomorrow’s meeting but did not care if he were fired.
“They can fire me without having to call me to a meeting if there are substantive grounds to warrant a firing. The tweets were factually correct in explaining what’s happening. Which tweet touched them in their studio?
“MultiChoice and SABC have a partnership agreement contract. This facade about banning us from using SuperSport commentary is nonsense. It’s archaic and comes from so-called managers that know nothing about managing but get great joy in trying to bully us to conform to nonsense.
“That manager guy who gossips and peddles lies about me in the SABC Sport corridors is the problem and he’s the one carrying the mandate to try and get rid of me. I really have no problem in going for whatever reasons but he must not play games with me. I’m a broadcaster and all I wanna do is deliver quality radio.”
The award-winning presenter said there have been concerted efforts to drive a wedge between him and Maphangwa over the past few years.
“He wants to take her to Radio 2000 and give me some other producer and all sorts of funny things. Who the hell is he?
“People at that place hate to see individuals and shows succeeding. They want all of us to be as useless as them in our work. I’m afraid I’m not here for that. South Africans will know pretty soon what’s going on there and the rubbish we have to put up with,” he said.
SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said: “We have noted what has been reflected by Robert Marawa on social media and we will deal with that next week Monday ]tomorrow].”
Sunday World understands that management was also angered by Marawa’s insistence during a meeting last week that his Room Dividers segment contributors must be given contracts by the SABC.
An SABC executive with knowledge of the meeting said Marawa refused to change the names of the contributors when management asked that he change them in order for them to honour the contracts.
“He made it clear to them that they can’t dictate to him who he should work with. And that did not sit well with management,” said the executive.
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