Following widespread reports that the SABC signal will be switched off at the end of the year, government has finally addressed the public broadcaster’s finances. In a report on the broadcaster’s own social media channel, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, had this to say about termination of the SABC signal …
“A new funding model for the SABC cannot be devised an enacted in the next three years. And that is merely kicking the can down the line. We need to find a funding model immediately to keep the SABC signal running. It needs to generate revenue in a sustainable manner,” said the minister on X.
SABC SIGNAL SHUTDOWN
Nevertheless, talk of an SABC signal shutdown jumped into high gear last week when SABC CEO, Nomsa Chabeli, addressed Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies. It is understood that SABC signal transmitter, Sentech, is owed R1 billion in unpaid signal costs. And the bill continues to mount by R70 million every month it continues to broadcast.
However, minister Malatsi says an investigation is currently underway to find a new funding model for the public broadcaster. This will be concluded in three months, he says, even though a draft SABC Bill to this affect has been in place since 2018. And the department has come up with nothing to keep the broadcaster sustainable in seven years.
CONTENTIOUS ISSUES OVER CEO ROLE
Malatsi went on to explain that there are several contentious issues about the original SABC Bill. “One of the fundamental flaws about the SABC Bill is that CEO must be the editor in chief, too. This is a contradiction of the most basic form of media independence. The newsroom must be run by journalists and not by management,” Malatsi said. Nevertheless, it still looks doubtful that the SABC signal will run into 2026.
Earlier this year, the SABC revealed it was some R40 million in the red, and there are as many as 2 000 full-time employees. Average take-home pay of SABC staff is understood to be more than R50 000 per month. And senior SABC management earn as much as R1.5 million annually. “We’ve insisted that the broadcaster sorts out its finances and pays its Sentech bill. It will have devastating consequences to the public if the SABC signal is cutoff. So, everyone must do their part,” concluded the minister.
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