The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has joined forces with the Solidarity Fund in an effort to give visibility to its objectives and activities.
This comes as the country is dealing with the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Key to the work of the Solidarity Fund are measures aimed at lessening the severity of the COVID-19 impact on the nation.
The public broadcaster will embark on a four-week campaign to mobilise South Africans to play their part in supporting the work of the Solidarity Fund and to combat the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The campaign, #ThatsSolidarity, will be carried on all SABC radio stations, television channels and digital platforms.
In addition to the campaign and as part of its own contribution, the SABC says it will allocate airtime to the value of R1.6 million to broadcast the Solidarity Fund’s Public Service Announcements on television and radio during the month-long campaign.
“As the nation’s public service broadcaster, the SABC commits itself to continue using its platforms to serve the needs of the citizens, especially during this difficult period. As such, collaborative efforts between the SABC and its stakeholders is critical in all the nation’s efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, reduce COVID-19 infections, and to minimise the impact of the scourge on society,” the organisation says in a statement.
In the video below, President Cyril Ramaphosa announces the Solidarity Fund:
Solidarity Fund contributions
Meanwhile, ANC Members of Parliament, excluding those in the executive, will contribute more than R5 million to the coronavirus Solidarity Fund. ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina revealed this in an interview with SABC News in Parliament.
Majodina says the final decision on the contribution was taken at a virtual ANC caucus meeting.
“We take it very serious that the country needs resources to address COVID-19 that spreads at a very high rate. It is against this background that the African National Congress MPs are going to contribute a sum of R5 374 740,46 that is based on the 10% sliding scale of all 259 MPs. I am referring to MPs here, excluding the executive. The executive as per the President’s address is going to contribute to one third. But members of Parliament will contribute this five million in total.”
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the Economic Freedom Fighters are among political parties that have promised to contribute to the fund.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has also said his cabinet will take a salary cut of 33% for the next three months to support the fund.
“In support of this effort, we have decided that the president, the deputy president ministers and deputy ministers will each take a one-third cut in their salaries for the next three months this portion of their salaries will be donated to the solidarity fund. We are calling on other public office bearers and executives of large companies to make similar gesture and further increase the reach of this national effort.”
The Solidarity Fund has so far raised R2.6 billion.
