The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) celebrated 74 years of broadcasting this year. The broadcaster was established in 1936 and after decades of operating, the SABC is reported to be facing a serious financial crisis, which has put them on 'autopilot.'

OUTDATED

According to its Chief Financial Officer, Yolande van Biljon, the broadcaster is currently battling to escape liquidation and is on the verge of business rescue. They are expected to report a R1 billion deficit for the fiscal year, which ended in March 2023. Loadshedding, a high rate of license fee evasion and the current economic slowdown are the main causes of the financial troubles. Yolande was employed as the CFO of the SABC in 2018. When she started, she came with the hopes to try and improve the company's financial stability. She describes the current business model as "outdated and about ten years behind when it comes to digital transformation.' Since 2019, the broadcaster has been on the verge of collapse and the South African government rescued them with a R3.2 billion bailout. The bailout enabled them to pay the outstanding bills.

WITH THE TIMES

In 2019 the SABC launched the National Treasury's Bailout Preconditions to help meet long-term financial sustainability. With this, they have also tried to alter the National Broadcasting Act to change the TV licence fee, which stipulates that If you have sold, disposed, or lost your television set(s) you are no longer required to have a TV licence. The National Treasury's Bailout Preconditions also means they will charge for every device including cellphones, tablets, laptops and monitors. There are currently 9.2 million account holders who have outstanding balances for their TV Licences, valued at R44.2 billion. This is according to The Minister of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), Mondli Gungubele. The new levy is at proposal stage and still requires legislative amendments to become a reality. 

SALARIES 

According to a report on News24, the SABC is operating on autopilot, and it's a matter of time before they are unable to pay employees' salaries and might end up liquidated. In the report. Yolande said a business rescue is "going to become a very real consideration unless other sources of funding or support are identified and confirmed as a matter of urgency in the medium to longer term,' she told News24.