Bakwena Productions has blamed the SABC for its financial woes which led to the non-payment of cast and crew and the public broadcaster discontinuing the drama series Pimville.
On Monday, the SABC issued a statement citing “unresolved contractual obligations and breaches” with the production company that had led them to halt the show and temporarily replace it with repeat episodes of season 2 of the telenovela Amalanga Awafani.
Bakwena Productions have since refuted claims that the production challenges of the show were due to failures attributable to their company, and shifted the blame to the public broadcaster.
In a statement, Bakwena Productions claims that on May 12 their legal representatives delivered a legal notice to the SABC leadership detailing repeated contractual breaches, delayed approvals, operational challenges, governance inconsistencies, funding shortfalls, and payment defaults committed by the SABC.
The statement further revealed that the approved production budget was reduced by approximately 38% without due process being followed.
“This correspondence was supported by extensive documentary evidence, including approved budgets, payment schedules, production records, operational reports, financial reconciliations, invoices, correspondence and proof of continued delivery by Bakwena,” read the statement.
The company also went on to say that substantial outstanding payments remained due to Bakwena in relation to the production, including an unpaid milestone obligation.
“These outstanding payments have created operational constraints and a severe strain on the broader production ecosystem, which the SABC statement fails to acknowledge and address. Despite these increasingly difficult circumstances, Bakwena diligently delivered episodes despite the funding and constraints.”
The production company said they were now engaging with their legal team amid alleged threats from the SABC to remove Bakwena and appoint another company to take over the production.
“For seamless continuity, Bakwena urges the SABC to reconsider its stance on removing Bakwena as the producer of Pimville for the integrity and morale of the cast and crew.”
On May 6, the SABC issued a statement saying the public broadcaster was fully up to date with payments, and Bakwena Productions was in breach of contract.
Actor and co-founder of Bakwena Productions, Kagiso Modupe, previously spoke about the issues he saw during production.
“During production, things started going wrong financially. Actors and crew were not paid, and suppliers were not paid. I flagged it with my partners. First, I was told to stay in my lane, and I was shut down. I continued to flag it with the channel, and I was given the impression it had been taken care of.”
TshisaLIVE
