JOHANNESBURG, May (ANA) – Many questions, most notably why Ashwin Willemse stormed off set on Saturday's live broadcast, remained unanswered by the time SuperSport released a statement on Monday evening.
The statement was released after a meeting earlier on Monday. The statement reads:
'Following the on-air incident on Saturday, senior management and staff of MultiChoice and SuperSport met with the four presenters, namely Ashwin Willemse, Nick Mallett, Naas Botha and Motshidisi Mohono, at SuperSport today.
'Meetings were also conducted with Anthony Banks, the director, and Mandla Ntsibande, the producer, who worked on the night.
'The meetings were positive and cordial with the presenters engaging directly with one another. There was a significant move in the parties finding common ground.
'SuperSport and MultiChoice have, however, requested all parties that we continue with a deeper engagement process to confront the complex issues which our past has thrust upon the workplace.
'This is merely the first stage of the process to address the issues raised by the weekend’s events.
'All the parties have agreed to continue participating in this process.
'Said Ashwin Willemse: “We had robust discussions in which I aired my views. I’m very appreciative of the process undertaken by SuperSport. The complexity of the issues are very profound.”
'Said Nick Mallett: “I appreciated the opportunity to air my views. Clearly, there are issues that must be grappled with. I am more than happy to collaborate and contribute to resolving this matter.”
'Said Naas Botha: “This was a first meeting and we all had our say, which was helpful. We’ve invested in a process to resolve matters and I’m confident that we will get a satisfactory resolution.”'
After the meeting journalists were standing by for a press conference which did not materialise. Instead, the media had an impromptu doorstop interview opportunity during which MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela said he did not sense any tension among the presenters.
"From the discussions at today's meeting, it is clear that they can continue to work together. We did not see anything that says they are not prepared to work together in future," said Mawela, adding that the meeting will continue on Tuesday.
– African News Agency (ANA)
