Solly Malatsi secures two-month reprieve to keep 3 million South Africans connected to SABC services

Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, on Tuesday, revealed that he brokered an agreement between the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and Sentech, ensuring that approximately 3 million South Africans will continue to receive radio and television services.

The intervention comes as Sentech, the signal distributor for the South African broadcasting sector, was considering switching off select signal transmitters due to non-payment of services by the SABC.

This action would have left many poor South Africans, particularly in rural areas and small towns, without access to news, educational, and entertainment content

“The agreement between the senior leadership of the SABC and Sentech 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,” said Malatsi.

Impact on vulnerable communities

The potential signal cut-off posed a significant threat to millions of households that rely almost exclusively on SABC services for information and entertainment.

Many of these families cannot afford subscription services, making the public broadcaster their primary window to the world.

While the two-month agreement provides temporary relief, Malatsi emphasised the need for a long-term sustainability model for the SABC.

Options under consideration include:

1. National Treasury’s decision on the SABC’s application to reclassify its grant, potentially allowing part of its allocation to be used for paying Sentech.
2. Developing a comprehensive financial model to ensure the SABC’s sustainability and ability to meet its obligations.

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SABC’s financial challenges

Despite making progress in improving its financial standing, the SABC has been unable to fully pay Sentech for services rendered.

This situation has put Sentech at risk of running out of cash, potentially affecting other broadcasters as well.

“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,” Malatsi said.

Minister’s commitment

Malatsi expressed his determination to prioritise the development and finalisation of a financial model for the SABC.

He said the goal was to ensure that the public broadcaster becomes sustainable.

He added that he would restore the SABC’s ability 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”.

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