By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
15 May 2025 – The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) said it has noted with deep concern the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) precarious financial state, which threatens its sustainability in the medium term. The committee said this is despite notable improvements in governance and content delivery.
The Chairperson of SCOPA, Songezo Zibi said SABC appeared before SCOPA on Wednesday to account for its 2023/24 audit outcomes and financial performance. Zibi said SABC received an unqualified audit opinion with a material finding for the 2023/24 financial year – an improvement from the disclaimed audit opinion they received in the 2022/23 financial year.
“However, we remain concerned about the SABC’s long-term financial position because its revenue is insufficient to support its mandate, forcing it to use funds meant for operations for other critical purposes.
“Another concern is that it cannot produce or procure sufficiently fresh programmes and content to compete for advertising and related revenue. It also cannot purchase and install new technologies to meet its mandate in a changing, digitised media landscape,” he said.
Zibi further said similarly, it is struggling to attract or retain talent or stave off demoralisation of staff who have not received a salary increase for several years. He added that, although the corporation has committed to reviewing salaries, increases will likely be modest and uncompetitive.
“Furthermore, it is concerning that the SABC continues to rely on declining TV license fees and government grants to fund 55% of its mandate. TV license fees revenue has declined steadily over the past three years, from R815 million in 2022, R741 million in 2023 and R687 million in 2024, while its expenses have risen extensively.
“The SABC faces a widening funding gap of R7.03 billion over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period and requires a comprehensive funding plan to enable it to access borrowing facilities on the open market,” said Zibi.
He said there is currently no plan to provide the SABC either with a guarantee to access bank loan facilities or a capital injection to meet its mandate. Zibi said when the SABC is unable to provide accurate, credible information to the public the country becomes vulnerable to disinformation and misinformation.
“South Africa has two choices: either to provide support for a capital injection at the SABC or cut back on its mandate. Failure to do either will eventually collapse the institution despite notable improvements in how it is run and managed,” he said.
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