To : All media
Date : 08 October 2024
The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi recently convened a meeting between the leadership of the SABC and Sentech to find a solution that enables roughly 3 million South Africans to continue enjoying access to radio and television services.
These South Africans were at risk of being cut off from news and entertainment if SENTECH switched off select signal transmitters due to the non-payment of services by the SABC.
This would have left many poor South Africans, mostly in rural areas and small towns, shut off from the world. As many households cannot afford subscription services and rely almost exclusively on SABC services for news, educational content, and entertainment.
The agreement initiated by the Minister between the senior leadership of the SABC and SENTECH, the signal distributor for the South African broadcasting sector, is that the latter will not switch off the public broadcaster for at least the next two months while we are exploring options to have a long-term sustainability model for the SABC.
These options include National Treasury’s decision on the application by the SABC to reclassify its grant which would allow for part of its allocation to be used to pay SENTECH for signal distribution services.
While the SABC has been making steady progress towards improving its financial standing, the fact is that it has not been able to fully pay SENTECH for services rendered. At the same time, SENTECH is at risk of running out of cash due to the non-payment, a risk that may even affect other broadcasters.
As we grapple with the complexities of developing a long-term funding model for the SABC, the public broadcaster also has a responsibility to raise revenue to maintain its operational costs.
I am determined to prioritise the development and finalisation of the financial model for the SABC to ensure that it becomes sustainable, able to pay its creditors and to deliver on its core function of providing accessible, diverse, and impartial news, entertainment, and educational content to the public.
…Ends…
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
DCDT Media Liaison Officer: Ms Tlangelani Manganyi
Issued by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies
Download Document here: Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Intervenes to Keep 3 million South Africans Connected to SABC Services