This and many other facts is among details obtained by the Sunday Times which the public broadcaster is trying to keep secret from the public.
The SABC, under the leadership of the dodgy ‘cloudy’ Hlaudi Motsoeneng, is trying to hide the following issues from the public, says the Sunday Times:
– In the past five months, the SABC has lost R496-million, more than its total loss in the last financial year.
– At the end of July, the broadcaster only had R245-million in the bank, far less than treasury’s requirement of R650-million.
– The SABC’s audience ratings declined from 49.3% in March to 47.4% in August, much lower than their target of 52%.
– TV license fee collections are declining.
MyBroadband.co.za quotes SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago as saying their CEO James Aguma “made it clear that the SABC is not insolvent”. The SABC reported a R411 million net loss for the 2015/2016 financial year. In the previous financial year it was R395 million.
“I know some expected the losses to be in the billions. I am sorry to disappoint,” Aguma said. He attributed the loss to the fact that the SABC had to cover events of national importance, including former president Nelson Mandela’s funeral, and the Rio Olympics. Covering Mandela’s funeral cost a “handsome sum of money”. Reporting on such events provided a huge social return on investment, but a negative financial return, he said.
