Parliament Committee Pressures Minister Over Delayed SABC Bill

Parliament Committee Demands Urgent Action on Delayed SABC Bill

The Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies has expressed frustration over the prolonged delays in finalising the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Bill, warning that the public broadcaster faces an existential crisis if urgent action is not taken.

The Bill, which has already undergone extensive public participation through written and oral submissions, was stalled after Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, indicated his intention to withdraw it late in 2024. The committee has since requested clarity from the minister, who has been asked to respond by Friday.

Committee chairperson, Kus Latigo, said Parliament has yet to receive a formal update. “We are concerned that there has been no real progress. The minister promised to return with a revised Bill within three months, but to date, the necessary consultations with Cabinet have not been concluded,” she explained.

According to Latigo, procedural issues prevented the minister from unilaterally withdrawing the Bill. As a result, it technically remains before Parliament while government deliberates. However, she stressed that Cabinet has still not considered the minister’s withdrawal proposal, as no memorandum has been formally submitted.

The committee warned that further delays could spell disaster for the already struggling SABC, which continues to face severe financial constraints. The broadcaster has been unable to meet its obligations to service providers, with signal distributor Sentech currently subsidising SABC’s operations at a cost of R70 million a month.

“The SABC is in a dire state. At this rate, it may not survive beyond December 2025,” Latigo cautioned. “We cannot sit idly by while Rome burns. This is reckless trading and government must intervene.”

Latigo emphasised that the SABC’s public mandate—spanning 19 radio stations and six television channels—was unsustainable under the current funding model. Despite operating as a multi-billion-rand corporation, the broadcaster receives only R193 million annually from the fiscus, an amount she described as “a drop in the ocean.”

The SABC continues to battle declining advertising revenues, mounting debt, competition from streaming platforms, and the collapse of the TV licence regime. The committee believes that a sustainable funding model is urgently needed, one that would require direct and consistent state investment, similar to public broadcasters elsewhere in the world.

“The Bill provides for the minister to finalise a funding model within three years, but without empowering legislation and investment, this clause is meaningless,” Latigo argued. She called for government to prioritise at least a technology and infrastructure upgrade, estimated at between R1.5 billion and R2.5 billion, noting that SABC facilities were in a state of decay.

“This is not about bailouts—it is about investment. Government has a constitutional responsibility to ensure the SABC is adequately funded to fulfil its mandate,” she said.

The committee now awaits Malatsi’s response on the way forward for the SABC Bill.