Malatsi under fire as SABC fights for R120m election coverage funding

The ANC is demanding answers over the SABC’s R120 million request for additional election funding, saying the shortfall could affect infrastructure, staff training and multilingual coverage.

The ANC has criticised Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi for failing to secure R120 million in additional funding requested by the SABC for election coverage.

The ANC Study Group on Communications and Digital Technologies said Malatsi had twice declined to support the public broadcaster’s application for additional funding during the adjustments budget process.

The SABC told Parliament that it requires R120 million to support its election coverage, including the deployment of personnel, technology and broadcasting infrastructure needed for the November 4 polls. Parliament’s portfolio committee has called for the funding to be urgently secured.

The ANC said the funding was needed for the SABC to procure critical ICT infrastructure, train staff and provide equitable multilingual coverage, particularly to underserved communities.

The funding dispute came under scrutiny in Parliament this month, with MPs told that the application had not been supported because of technical compliance issues.

Malatsi subsequently told the committee that he had engaged National Treasury and the Presidency to explore ways of resolving the matter. The SABC disputed that its application was late, and the committee called for a timeline of the process.

The ANC Study Group said it had raised the funding shortfall at portfolio committee meetings on August 11 and 14.

It said the committee was informed on both occasions that Malatsi had not supported the application on compliance grounds.

The minister had submitted apologies for the meetings and could not directly account for his decisions, according to the study group.

The matter was subsequently placed on the committee’s agenda for August 18, when Malatsi was present. The ANC said its caucus criticised what it described as a lack of leadership and the manner in which the minister had handled the funding issue.

The study group also pointed to written confirmation from Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on May 4, which it said showed that the SABC’s election funding needs had not been presented to the budget committees or Cabinet.

The ANC Study Group described the minister’s non-action as a “deliberate move that cripples the SABC”, saying the broadcaster had been left to arrange its election coverage without a confirmed budget allocation.

The group said the failure could jeopardise the SABC’s ability to provide the depth and breadth of election coverage required across the country.