IN CONVERSATION WITH SAMKE MOKHINE (FXI Executive Director will take the interview)
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Seventy-five years after its founding, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) should be celebrating a proud legacy of informing, educating, and uniting the nation. Instead, its anniversary is marred by headlines about escalating debt and the looming threat of a shutdown. Chronic underfunding has weakened the SABC to the point where it can no longer effectively fulfil its constitutional mandate to ensure the public’s right to access information.
Funding the SABC is *not an act of generosity or a bailout* — it is a *legal obligation*. The Broadcasting Act (Act 4 of 1999) clearly identifies multiple revenue sources for the SABC, including licence fees, advertising, sponsorships, and parliamentary appropriations. Crucially, Section 13 of the Act stipulates that the public broadcaster *must* receive state grants to fulfil its public service mandate. Unless Parliament amends the Act or a court overturns it, government funding remains both a *legal and constitutional duty*.
The SABC’s financial instability is also rooted in structural decisions taken nearly three decades ago. In 1996, the broadcaster’s signal distribution arm was separated to form *Sentech*, a move intended to promote fair access among broadcasters. However, this decision stripped the SABC of one of its most valuable assets — its transmission infrastructure. Now reliant on Sentech for signal carriage, the SABC faces enormous operational costs. It currently owes Sentech an estimated *R1.2 billion*, with the debt growing by *R70 million each month* due to underpayment and interest.
Adding to this, the SABC sold off four profitable radio stations — *Jacaranda, Highveld Stereo, KFM, and East Coast Radio* — to ease short-term financial pressure. While that provided temporary relief, it significantly reduced the broadcaster’s long-term revenue base. These cumulative structural weaknesses have deepened the SABC’s financial crisis.
Repeated appeals for government bailouts have left the SABC increasingly vulnerable to *political interference*. A recent *Sunday Times* report revealed that SABC board members and executives were “consulted” by an ANC parliamentary study group before their appearance in Parliament. One former board member described the process as political coercion, saying:
> “I thought it was like a prep or support session, but I soon realised it was political — where they try to suppress certain things and advance others. It became like a bullying session where you would be told, ‘Don’t do this – do that.’”
When a public broadcaster’s survival depends on bailouts or commercial advertisers, *editorial independence is compromised*. Newsrooms may begin prioritising stories that appease funders or avoid political controversy, rather than pursuing content in the public interest. This undermines the SABC’s role as an independent and trusted source of information.
The solution, however, is clear: fund the SABC adequately and sustainably, as the law and the Constitution demand. Public funding should form the foundation of its operations, while advertising and sponsorships serve only as supplementary income.
Despite its challenges, the SABC remains a cornerstone of South African media, reaching approximately 45 million people* each week through its 17 radio stations and *three public service television channels*. These audiences deserve a broadcaster that is independent, impartial, and capable of holding power to account — especially in an era of growing misinformation and disinformation.
The public’s right to know is only as strong as the institutions that protect it. When those institutions are allowed to fail, democracy itself is silenced. Unless the SABC is treated and funded as a genuine public good — rather than a commercial afterthought — South Africa risks losing one of its most vital democratic pillars.
Funding the SABC is *not an act of generosity or a bailout* — it is a *legal obligation*. The Broadcasting Act (Act 4 of 1999) clearly identifies multiple revenue sources for the SABC, including licence fees, advertising, sponsorships, and parliamentary appropriations. Crucially, Section 13 of the Act stipulates that the public broadcaster *must* receive state grants to fulfil its public service mandate. Unless Parliament amends the Act or a court overturns it, government funding remains both a *legal and constitutional duty*.
The SABC’s financial instability is also rooted in structural decisions taken nearly three decades ago. In 1996, the broadcaster’s signal distribution arm was separated to form *Sentech*, a move intended to promote fair access among broadcasters. However, this decision stripped the SABC of one of its most valuable assets — its transmission infrastructure. Now reliant on Sentech for signal carriage, the SABC faces enormous operational costs. It currently owes Sentech an estimated *R1.2 billion*, with the debt growing by *R70 million each month* due to underpayment and interest.
Adding to this, the SABC sold off four profitable radio stations — *Jacaranda, Highveld Stereo, KFM, and East Coast Radio* — to ease short-term financial pressure. While that provided temporary relief, it significantly reduced the broadcaster’s long-term revenue base. These cumulative structural weaknesses have deepened the SABC’s financial crisis.
Repeated appeals for government bailouts have left the SABC increasingly vulnerable to *political interference*. A recent *Sunday Times* report revealed that SABC board members and executives were “consulted” by an ANC parliamentary study group before their appearance in Parliament. One former board member described the process as political coercion, saying:
> “I thought it was like a prep or support session, but I soon realised it was political — where they try to suppress certain things and advance others. It became like a bullying session where you would be told, ‘Don’t do this – do that.’”
When a public broadcaster’s survival depends on bailouts or commercial advertisers, *editorial independence is compromised*. Newsrooms may begin prioritising stories that appease funders or avoid political controversy, rather than pursuing content in the public interest. This undermines the SABC’s role as an independent and trusted source of information.
The solution, however, is clear: fund the SABC adequately and sustainably, as the law and the Constitution demand. Public funding should form the foundation of its operations, while advertising and sponsorships serve only as supplementary income.
Despite its challenges, the SABC remains a cornerstone of South African media, reaching approximately 45 million people* each week through its 17 radio stations and *three public service television channels*. These audiences deserve a broadcaster that is independent, impartial, and capable of holding power to account — especially in an era of growing misinformation and disinformation.
The public’s right to know is only as strong as the institutions that protect it. When those institutions are allowed to fail, democracy itself is silenced. Unless the SABC is treated and funded as a genuine public good — rather than a commercial afterthought — South Africa risks losing one of its most vital democratic pillars.
