A deal enabling the Gupta-owned New Age newspaper and ANN7 television channel to broadcast their “breakfast briefings” on SABC television may be scrapped.
Business Day newspaper reported on Tuesday that the new interim SABC board was keen to cancel the contract.
Not only did it appear to be irregular‚ but it also made no financial sense to cosy up to a rival broadcaster‚ the newspaper was told by a person with knowledge of board deliberations.
Former SABC acting CEO Phil Molefe previously told parliament that the state broadcaster paid up to R1 million per episode for the show.
Several high-profile government ministers‚ including President Jacob Zuma‚ have spoken at the breakfast briefings.
Businessman Ajay Gupta used one of the briefings to defend his family against allegations of state capture in 2016.
He was speaking as a member of the audience at the briefing in Sandton‚ which was screened on the SABC’s Morning Live breakfast show.
TimesLIVE published his views on state capture at the time.
“Are you a lobbyist or have you got an unfair advantage that could be deemed to be state capture?” he was asked.
“Let me give you a straight answer. I’m not a lobbyist. I’m not a state capturer‚” he said.
- TMG Digital/TimesLIVE
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