Gavin Davis, shadow minister for communications said this is in contravention with the SABC’s Charter, its editorial policies and its Code of Practice. “These documents state that the SABC must treat all official languages equitably and commit the SABC to furthering the rights of all South Africans to receive and impart information.”
In a statement on Bizcommunity last week SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago denied claims made on “TV with Thinus (Ferreira)” and channel24 that the SABC would be moving its Afrikaans programming to SABC 3 “to further marginalise the Afrikaans language”.
Kganyago alleged that “Ferreira’s article is questionable and is perceived by the SABC as a move to cause confusion and to some extent instigate racial and linguistic divisions.”
But it remains as clear as mud as conflicting reports emerge. AFP, via I-net Bridge, reports the SABC’s spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said last Wednesday that the Afrikaans news was never dropped. It was merely reshuffled to a new time slot to accommodate the World Cup and that it would be returned to its usual time by the end of the week.
But according to Channel24, SABC2’s acting programme manager, Jacqui Hlongwane, said the Afrikaans news will be moved to SABC3 permanently and there will no longer be an Afrikaans drama slot.
Icasa will investigate en hopefully the DA will provide the answer – if the Afrikaans news not mysteriously makes it re-appearance some time this week (or after the World Cup).
