‘Public must understand: the existence of a public broadcaster needs public funds’
The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has announced an allocation of more than R700-million to the SABC through the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).
Minister Solly Malatsi disclosed this funding during his Budget Vote debate speech on 11 July 2025.
‘SABC will receive R704m over the MTEF. This includes R43m for programme production, R464m to support the core public broadcasting mandate, R197m for Channel Africa,’ he said
In an interview with SABC News, the minister emphasised that this funding should not be interpreted as a bailout, as reported by some media outlets, but rather as a standard budget allocation.
Malatsi highlighted that the public broadcaster is facing significant financial constraints, which hinder its ability to fulfil its growing public mandate: ‘The core public broadcasting mandate is one of the SABC’s primary responsibilities, yet it is severely underfunded due to the ongoing fiscal challenges the state is confronting.’
He also pointed out that while the public broadcaster’s responsibilities have expanded over time, funding hasn’t kept pace, leading to a mismatch between expectations and available resources.
‘There is a strong expectation among both the government and the public for the SABC to continue covering national events and sports,’ Malatsi noted.
However, he stressed the need for better engagement with the National Treasury to secure the necessary support for the broadcaster: ‘The challenges facing the SABC are not always well understood by those not involved in the broadcasting process’
Malatsi expressed concern over the SABC’s ability to adequately cover the upcoming local government elections in 2026 without sufficient resources.
‘With the elections approaching, all political parties will expect fair coverage, and we will need considerable resources to provide that.’
During his address, Malatsi also revealed that his department plans to request proposals to identify a competent service provider to create a sustainable funding model for the SABC. The public broadcaster has been operating at a loss for over a decade due to widespread avoidance of the TV licence fee.
‘This request for proposals aims to find effective solutions to the challenges posed by the TV licence system, which has struggled to fulfil its role in fee collection,’ Malatsi stated.
He noted that alternative models, such as a household levy, have been suggested. However, the department plans to evaluate the proposals to determine the fairest, practical, and appropriate method for bolstering the SABC’s finances.
‘The public must understand that the existence and operation of a public broadcaster require funding from the public. Our challenge is to identify the fairest mechanism for achieving this’
Malatsi has also proposed alternatives to the SABC’s TV licence, including a levy on international and local streaming services to provide funds for the broadcaster.
Nonetheless, he cautioned that assessing cabinet support for such a levy would be premature, emphasising that the resulting funding model from the tender needs to be presented to Cabinet for consideration first.
- This article was first published here
