Financial relief for SABC as broadcaster teeters on the brink
Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams told Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications on Tuesday that Treasury has agreed to provide the SABC with financial relief.
Ndabeni-Abrahams made the announcement after SABC executives briefed the committee on a turnaround strategy for the public broadcaster.
SABC executives told the committee that it’s at risk of being "factually insolvent' if nothing is done to improve its cash flow problems by the end of March.
The broadcaster’s chief financial officer, Yolande van Biljon, told MPs that the SABC doesn't have enough money to cover its expenses and is likely to go broke at the end of the month if no cash injection was forthcoming.
Ndabeni-Abrahams said National Treasury has agreed to provide interim relief but not the full R6.8 billion SABC requested.
"Now, as government, once more as we have to intervene on the financial crisis faced by the SABC.
"We got to put money because we looking into the matter of the public interest in relation to the mandate the SABC is driving.
"But as the finance minister announced there will be a person assigned to monitor that SABC spends the money according to what has been submitted."
Ndabeni-Abrahams made it clear that the cash is intended to pay salaries.
"So, CEO (Madoda Mxakwe) you can freely say if we give you the money you can pay the workers.
"Because that's one thing that's not nice for people to be working every day and not knowing if they are going to get their money."