Cash strapped SABC gets another bailout from Government

04 Oct 2019 | Admin Author

The cash-strapped public broadcaster has received yet another bailout from the government.

Communications Minister, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, announced during a media briefing this morning that the SABC will get a R2.1 billion injection from the National Treasury on Monday.

The SABC was seeking 3.2 billion, however Treasury agreed to the lower amount because the broadcaster met only five of the eight pre-conditions that needed to be fulfilled before funding was approved.

Ndabeni-Abrahams says the remaining amount will be made available when the rest of the conditions have been met.

The preconditions that are fully met are as follows:

Determine immediate cash requirements supported by detailed cash flow projections for the next 12 to 18 months;
Submit a list of identified initiatives for revenue enhancement and cost-cutting initiatives;
Conduct a thorough investigation into what caused the financial collapse of the SABC and why previous turnaround plans have failed to be successfully implemented;
Provide an update of how the entity is dealing with the people implicated in the investigation report; and
Develop a turnaround plan incorporating measures to prevent the reoccurrence of the identified factors. This must also take into account various reports including those of the Special Investigating Unit, Public Protector, Auditor General and Parliament.

The preconditions that are partially met are as follows:

Produce separate financial reporting for public and commercial broadcasting services; and
Identify non-core assets for disposal to assist with reducing the recapitalisation requirement from government.