Gail Mabalane heartbroken over ‘Pimville’ being axed by SABC

Actress and media socialite Gail Mabalane says she is struggling to come to terms with the telenovela Pimville being pulled off air.

Since its premiere on SABC2 in February, the show was marred by cast and crew members not being compensated for their work, which led to the SABC discontinuing the show on May 25.

Taking to her Instagram timeline, Gail, who played the role of detective Pheello Mohapi, spoke about her disappointment when the show came to an end.

“I woke up today thinking of Pimville — the cast, the crew, the countless individuals still navigating life after the abrupt end to a stream of income,“ she wrote.

“Imagine one day you’re at work making TV and the next you see this post on social media. This beautiful story deserved to be told. It should still be on air. Our beloved viewers! Honestly, as creatives and as an industry, we deserve better than this.”

The cast and crew of the show are still unpaid.

Bakwena Productions blamed the SABC for its financial woes, which led to the non-payment of cast and crew, while the SABC cited “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 claims that on May 12 their legal representatives delivered a notice to the SABC leadership detailing repeated contractual breaches, delayed approvals, operational challenges, governance inconsistencies, funding shortfalls and payment defaults allegedly committed by the SABC.

The company also alleged the approved production budget was reduced by about 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.”

The company further alleged 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.”

On May 6 the SABC said 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,” he said.

“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.”

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