SABC COO Motsoeneng to TCB's Rian on 90% local quota: "I need to change your mind"
What is the significance of the SABC's new 90% local music quota, in terms of the public broadcaster's mandate? What are the concerns around the SABC's sustainability? Watch SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng's sit down with The Complimentary Breakfast's Rian Van Heerden as he unpacks the importance of serving the South African public at all costs.
Never a stranger to controversy, the consistent narrative around SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng in South African media is that of a domineering tyrant that does as he pleases.
Is this, however an accurate reflection of Motsoeneng?
Responding to TCB host Rian Van Heerden’s claim that the 90% local music quota was implemented ‘without consultation’, Motsoeneng says: “At the SABC, we have a certain mandate to fulfill. We are guided by ICASA regulations and when we took a decision, we took a decision in the interest of the nation. I don’t know what do you mean by ‘consultation’? We have been going around all provinces and people have been saying to us they need local content. With local content, we have more audience than the other international content. Local is lekker, we are not going to compromise about local content.”
Does South Africa have the capacity to deal with the 90% local content declaration?
Motsoeneng believes so: “This is the time for you, for all South Africans to wake up and come with miracles! You need people with vision, you need strategists, you need creatives: this is the time. The SABC is financially sustainable, there is money. We have put R600 million for local content only: it’s huge! From 2009, we nearly collapsed financially. When I started acting and started appointing the right people at the right units within the organization, the SABC from R4 billion we moved to an R8 billion company, today as we are speaking. We are not in the business of making profit, we are in the business of making sure we serve people, we provide information, education and entertainment.”
Listen to Motsoeneng taking the TCB's Rian through his paces on the mandate of the SABC: