Government should set an example and pay R35m TV licence debt, Solly Malatsi tells Mashatile

Communications and digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi has urged government departments to set an example by settling almost R35m they owe in outstanding TV licence fees.

Malatsi wrote to Deputy President Paul Mashatile, as leader of government business, calling for urgent intervention in unpaid TV licence fees by government.

The SABC revealed to parliament last week that fewer people paid for licences in the past year, including government departments that own about 2,500 TV sets which have an outstanding licence debt of almost R35m.

The public broadcaster’s main revenue stream to fund its operations is meant to be the collection of TV licence fees, yet national, provincial and local governments owe the SABC money, Malatsi said.

Government, as a leader in society, must set a high standard for compliance with legal and financial responsibilities.

“Ensuring all government departments pay TV licences in full and on time will help support the public broadcaster’s financial health. The culture of nonpayment of public services such as TV licences is unacceptable,” Malatsi said.

It was crucial to ensure the SABC has the resources it needs to fulfil its mandate by ensuring steps are taken to lessen the burden on the national fiscus.

While a new and effective funding model for the SABC was being prioritised, all stakeholders should pay for services they use, Malatsi said.

“This will assist in the transition towards a more sustainable financial model for the SABC, which is critical for the broadcaster to deliver on its core mandate of providing independent and quality public broadcasting services to all South Africans.

“I trust that with [Mashatile’s] support we will ensure government departments lead by example and fulfil their obligation to the SABC,” Malatsi said.

Civil rights organisation AfriForum has called for the scrapping of TV licences as the outstanding fee by government was proof the system was a “formidable flop” that even the state has “lost confidence” in.

According to AfriForum public relations head Ernst van Zyl, the SABC’s annual report shows an increase from 72% in 2018 to 85.8% in 2023 of consumers who don’t pay TV licences.

This was a clear sign the SABC was “clinging to its failed operating and financing model” and government has now joined consumers who are against TV licences.

“’The SABC must choose whether it will sink or swim, while the inefficient, state-centred model with its obsolete TV licences to which it clings are like concrete blocks around its ankles.

“The SABC now has the opportunity to escape the existential crisis in which it has been immersed for decades by means of a fresh approach, namely privatisation, to re-establish trust in viewers and listeners and reposition the broadcaster as a modern and relevant institution,” Van Zyl said.

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