A group of civil society bodies has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to suspend the Media Development and Diversity Agency board, accusing it of fraud and irregularities.

In a statement, organisations such as Right2Know and Corruption Watch say the board is implicated in allegations of abuse of power.

It follows the recent dismissal of the MDDA’s CEO, Zukiswa Potye, over a dispute regarding her compatibility.

MDDA Board Chairperson, Hlengani Mathebula says, “The CEO had caused incompatibility in the organisation. The best way out of this situation was a summary dismissal of the CEO to give the organisation a space to be able to execute its mandate. The rest of the things that Corruption Watch is raising are really an attempt to mount a fight for the CEO who has lost her own case in the CCMA and we challenge Corruption Watch to support her to follow the law processes like going to the Labour Court to challenge the decision. We think the MDDA has a very strong case in this regard.”