While communications and digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi was disquieted at government departments not paying TV licence fees of R35m last year, we are surprised that they own a massive 2,500 television sets.
This translates to government officials in 2,500 offices with television sets. When do they watch these? What do they watch? Telenovelas, sport or trash TV? Certainly not shows on how to improve service delivery. But importantly, when do those with these television sets do their work?
This week, head of audit in the auditor-general’s office Bongi Ngoma said state-owned enterprises, including the SABC, incurred irregular expenditure of almost R70bn in the past five years without consequences to managers. She attributed this to “a culture of a lack of accountability towards the prudent usage of scarce resources”. In the latest report on municipalities, only 34 of 257 councils achieved clean audits.
While many, like Malatsi, will be hoping for accountability, both from those to be held accountable and those who should be inculcating a culture of accountability, may well be firmly ensconced in their offices watching the 2,500 TVs without a care. Occasionally, we must concede, there might be a need to watch TV for those in government. But 2,500?
What may have escaped Malatsi’s memory is that Mashatile was last year asked to nip in the bud the country’s water woes — but the situation has since become dire.
Malatsi wrote to deputy president Paul Mashatile, who is also head of government business, hoping for his help to get departments to at least pay for TV licences. What may have escaped Malatsi’s memory is that Mashatile was last year asked to nip in the bud the country’s water woes — but the situation has since become dire. Perhaps not because of Mashatile, but certainly despite his interventions.
This week, water and sanitation minister Pemmy Majodina admitted that the water crisis facing Gauteng is “self-inflicted”. Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi warned of a bleak Christmas if Gauteng municipalities don’t fix leaks and maintain infrastructure.
But Malatsi believes with Mashatile’s “support we will ensure government departments lead by example and fulfil their obligation to the SABC. 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.”
TimesLIVE on Wednesday quoted AfriForum’s public relations head Ernst van Zyl calling for the scrapping of TV licences, noting the outstanding fee by government was proof the system was a “formidable flop” and that even the state has “lost confidence” in it. This may be a bit of a stretch. Nonpayment doesn’t translate into lost confidence. We believe even with the best intentions to pay, departments may still not pay because of incompetence and the laziness that possibly is also induced by the television sets in their offices.
Whether the SABC offers a compelling service worthy of the licences it charges is a topic for another day. The big question is whether government departments have the willingness to do what they have been established to do. The AG reports indicate otherwise.
As if this was not enough, some residents in Tzaneen, where former governor of the Reserve Bank and minister of labour in Nelson Mandela’s first cabinet after the 1994 elections, Tito Mboweni, was buried on Saturday, noted how his funeral generated surprising yet welcome service delivery. Perhaps for a change, in Tzaneen, government officials stopped watching TV and did some work ahead of the funeral.
It is not inconceivable that if many of these TVs were switched off, suddenly some of the country’s challenges such as dysfunctional ports, crime, unemployment, crumbling water infrastructure and poor financial management, could be resolved. We may never know — until the TVs are switched off.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.