SABC’s financial lifeline comes with certain conditions

National Treasury says the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has been given eleven conditions to comply with before it can get financial support from the government. Some of these conditions have been met.

Treasury’s Director-General Dondo Mogajane says the conditions were stipulated in a letter to the SABC in April. Those conditions include identifying non-core assets and getting rid of them and leasing non-performing assets, as well as filling vacancies on the board.

The SABC may be getting a financial lifeline to avoid a blackout. However, the public broadcaster must comply with eleven conditions.

Mogajane says the conditions included reducing expenditure, maximising revenue and reviewing costly content.

“For us to pass any portion of the R3.2 billion, we’ll have to be satisfied that they have met certain conditions and we know they are meeting some of them… Parliament has done that. As part of my 11 conditions, make sure you identify non-core functions and activities and get rid of them, stop them, including non-performing sectors of the SABC; list them. So all of those things are part of these things as we disburse, essentially it would be part of the R3.2 billion because the total is for R3.2 billion.”

Chief Restructuring Officers

On Eskom, calls for strict conditions for the disbursement of R59 billion to Eskom over the next two years.

DA’s Dennis Ryder says, “We as the Appropriations Committee are best placed to insist that some sort of conditions can be attached to these disbursements. And if there are conditions, it should be made clear to us so that we understand and we should be taken on board.

ANC’s Yunus Carrim says “We need a clearer set of conditions. We cannot understand why DG with due respect the Chief Restructuring Officers announced in the House yesterday, why does it have to take an extra day. I mean surely you knew for weeks now so I mean that’s not acceptable by any measure.”

Mogajane says the appointment of Chief Restructuring Officers is urgent.

“Unfortunately as Honourable Carrim said it’s unacceptable I agree. As the executive, we must firm up and make known the Chief Restructuring Officers, not only Eskom, but also these other state owned companies that are part and parcel of this list whether it’s Denel, SABC and SAA.

For Eskom, Mogajane says the Chief Restructuring Officer will have to oversee four issues. These include the unbundling of the power utility into three divisions, reviewing the funding model, rationalising top management and restructuring debt.

Click below for more on the story: