The SABC is on the brink of a blackout due to its crippling debt, says CEO Madoda Mxakwe.
In an interview on Friday, Mxakwe said the broadcaster could not pay its creditors. It applied to the National Treasury in February for a R6.8bn bailout, and communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams said in March that urgent interim relief had been approved.
But Mxakwe said no money had arrived. "We never had a blackout before but if the funding doesn't come soon the possibility of a blackout is imminent," he said.
Ndabeni-Abrahams's spokesperson, Nthabeleng Mokitimi-Dlamini, said government funding to assist state-owned enterprises in financial difficulties would be available from September.
In the meantime, the SABC is being supported through a government guarantee, which allows it to borrow from commercial banks.
"To this end, the ministers of communications and finance have established a committee led by the two directors-general and the SABC CEO. In April, the committee met with financial institutions to discuss the immediate funding support to the SABC," Mokitimi-Dlamini said yesterday.
"A follow-up meeting with the four commercial institutions is scheduled for May 7. Conclusion of this meeting will therefore enable the government to expedite the immediate next steps in respect of the SABC government guarantee."
Mxakwe also revealed that the SABC is embroiled in scores of forensic investigations and is dealing with 30 cases of senior managers who were appointed or promoted irregularly.
"We have 180 forensic investigations into financial and governance irregularities, where managers and other service providers were paid bonuses they do not deserve. Now we have to act and people say we are purging people," he said.
An annual salary bill of R3.1bn is the broadcaster's biggest single cost, he said. During the 2018/2019 financial year, the SABC made only 32 appointments and lost 385 staff due to resignations, terminations and retirements.
"Currently the SABC has 127 vacancies across the corporation. Critical vacancies could not be filled, impacting negatively on business operations," Mxakwe said, adding that 217 staff were in acting positions at an additional monthly cost of R2m.
Thirty-eight disciplinary cases were concluded in the past financial year. "A total of 22 disciplinary cases are pending as at March 4. The number of suspensions - 11 - is a concern due to the financial implications. Measures are being looked at to mitigate this."
The SABC's unaudited net loss for 2018/2019 was R564m, 9% lower than the previous year's audited loss of R622m, and Mxakwe said a "process of rehabilitation and renewal" was under way.
"It should be noted that many factors - structural and symptomatic - have impacted on the SABC's viability over the past years," he said. The economic slowdown and related foreign exchange fluctuations significantly hurt the SABC, as it needed to acquire content, sports rights and technology.
"Multinational advertisers have reduced their industry-wide spending over the past 24 months," he said...