The scale of chaos at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), including rampant corruption and fraud, was so great that the former interim board was compelled to step in and ‘be involved in almost everything’.
So said former SABC interim board member Mathatha Tsedu an in interview with Newzroom Afrika.
Mybroadband reports that Tsedu was responding to a question arising from a High Court ruling that the former interim board, of which he was a member, interfered with procurement processes that led to the awarding of an irregular security contract in 2017.
Tsedu acknowledged that, in ordinary circumstances, much of what the board did would have been regarded as undue interference.
But he added: ‘The interim board arrived at the SABC and found so much chaos that we had to be involved in almost everything. We were almost living there and acting like an executive board.’
The board cancelled numerous contracts, including some involving the Guptas.
Meanwhile, the group’s CFO, Yolande van Biljon, said the SABC was in extreme financial distress and could be forced to apply for business rescue.
Van Biljon told Parliament that revenue was below budget by 27%, in comparison with the original budget.
‘The bottom has dropped out of our revenue generation initiatives, and as a consequence, the SABC’s loss increased by R949 million to R1.2 billion’, she said.
The SABC’s TV licence revenue declined from R968 million in 2019 to R741 million in 2023.
It billed R4.5 billion in TV licence fees in the last financial year, but it collected far less.
This is a TV licence evasion rate of 84%: up from 69% four years ago.