The Film and Publication Board (FPB) has suspended its CEO and COO, and informed Parliament it will release more details in a full report.

DA spokesperson Phumzile van Damme, a member of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications, expressed concern that the FPB’s top leadership has been suspended or resigned.

As it stands, the FPB has no chief executive officer, operations officer, or financial officer.

Themba Wakashe, the FPB’s CEO, along with COO Sipho Risiba, were suspended and subsequently resigned, said Van Damme.

The FPB’s CFO, Regardt Gouws, is also no longer with the organisation. He resigned to pursue personal career advancement, the FPB told MyBroadband.

Van Damme asked the FPB to explain what led to Wakashe and Risiba’s suspensions, but FPB chairperson Thoko Mpumlwana said they will provide more details in a report to the chair of the parliamentary committee

Mpumlwana said the “long and short of the story” is that a whistleblower came forward with information on the CEO – which ended up involving all the executives.

“We will write a full report because every story has two sides, and every person has rights, there are labour laws and disciplinary rules we have to respect, and privacy issues we have to deal with,” said Mpumlwana.

“We are doing everything in our power to ensure the organisations is stable.”

Wakashe and Risiba facing charges

The FPB told MyBroadband that the CEO and COO both face various charges, and disciplinary processes are underway.

“The matter is still sub judice and we would like to maintain the confidentiality of the process until it has been concluded.”