SABC veteran overcome by academic honour

Former SABC Setswana anchor, Masego “Easy” Matjila could not hold back his tears when his alma mater, North-West University (NWU), awarded him with an honorary doctorate.

Matjila, who notched up 39 years of service at the SABC, was honoured for his contribution to the development of the Setswana, Sepedi and Sesotho languages.

After completing matric, Matjila’s former principal and family friend, Thomas Mafambane, helped him to apply for and secure a job at Bophuthatswana’s public works, where he started working in the accounts division in 1980.

How it all started

He got lucky when the homeland government offered public servants an opportunity to study at the new University of Bophuthatswana, the forerunner of the NWU, where he studied law.

It was while studying that he succeeded at an SABC audition in 1982 and started to work there in various roles until 2021.

Matjila had mixed feelings about the end of his SABC career because he believed he was unceremoniously removed from the public broadcaster.

He is still passionate about broadcasting and wants to continue with it. While he was excited about the honour the NWU have bestowed on him, he was not happy with his premature exit from the SABC.

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He said while he was working from home, like many other people during Covid, he got a letter from his employer to take an early retirement pension, which he said he had never asked for.

“I was relieved of my duties during Covid in 2021, with my contract ending in 2022.

“A lawyer offered to take up the matter. I had to stop him because I was going through emotional hardships at the time and needed to focus on my private matters,” said the popular ex-news anchor.

The soft-spoken former news anchor said his late mother was sick in 2020 and his only son was in and out of hospital.

To make matters worse, he had an accident in early 2020 and did not have the energy to deal with his premature exit at the public broadcaster.

During SA’s turbulent years

He worked at the SABC between 1982 and 2021 during apartheid and the new democratic dispensation. He said the SABC’s corporate culture had not changed much.

Matjila said although there was discrimination during apartheid, the government allowed for some heightened levels of black management at the SABC.

He noted that few things had changed at the SABC such as political appointments and poor financial systems, which affected the broadcaster’s content.

He said language development, especially Setswana, is not where it is supposed to be.

Matjila said the presentation of language was not what it used to be and this could be corrected by investing more money in the SABC to help develop African languages.

“The SABC in the 1980s gave black people a platform, latitude and a sense of freedom to practise their languages.

“The SABC in that time had strong financial systems and did not need to be bailed out by the state,” said Matjila.

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