Accelerate process and apply due diligence to meet Treasury conditions, Committee urges SABC

10 October 2019

The Portfolio Committee on Communications has urged the board and management of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to move with speed and exercise due diligence in order to meet in full all the funding conditions set out by the National Treasury.

This came after the SABC requested financial relief of R3.2 billion from the National Treasury, but received only R2.1 billion. However, the committee welcomed an undertaking by the National Treasury to release the remaining R1.1 billion to the SABC, provided that all conditions are met in full.

“Although we welcome the first allocation which, without a doubt, will provide much-needed financial relief, we still believe that a full allocation will go a long way to assist the board and management to turn the public broadcaster around. We are confident that with a closer working relationship, as has been demonstrated already between the Department of Communication, National Treasury and the SABC, all the conditions will be met in full,” said Mr Boyce Maneli, the Chairperson of the committee

The committee has already been briefed on the SABC’s turnaround strategy and offered its full support. It undertook to monitor implementation on an ongoing basis and hold the public broadcaster accountable when there are gaps. 

On Tuesday this week, the committee was briefed by the Auditor-General on the 2018/19 financial and performance audit outcomes of the Department of Communications, as well as the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services.

Issued by Justice Molafo, Media Officer, Parliamentary Communication Services, 10 October 2019