AG red flags SABC's abysmal results; R3bn bailout an option
The auditor-general has warned about the going-concern status of the SABC‚ noting that the public broadcaster was commercially insolvent at the end of March.
The SABC tabled its 2016-17 annual report in Parliament on Tuesday showing it had received an adverse audit opinion from the auditor-general and recording a staggering loss of R1.1-billion versus R593-million in the previous financial year.
The public broadcaster is facing its worst financial crisis and the Treasury is considering its request for R3-billion guarantee. It is feared it could collapse it fails to get the guarantee.
The SABC’s huge losses were attributed partly to axed executive Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s controversial 90% local-content policy‚ which the interim board has since canned. It is also struggling to collect licence fees.