The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) needs R120m to fulfil its mandate as a public broadcaster and cover the 2026 local government elections.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) needs R120m if it is to fulfil its mandate as a public broadcaster and cover the 2026 local government elections (Source: @ SABC
SABC)
The Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies has called for the urgent funding of the broadcaster following its engagement with the SABC, which briefed the committee on its state of readiness to provide comprehensive coverage of the elections.
The briefing highlighted the significant financial resources required for the SABC to execute its election mandate, with an estimated R120 million required to support its election coverage operations.
Public broadcaster responsibility
The committee stressed that the SABC occupies a unique and indispensable position in South Africa’s electoral democracy.
As the public broadcaster, the SABC has a constitutional and legislative responsibility to ensure that citizens, including those in underserved and rural communities, have access to reliable, accurate and timely information to enable them to make informed choices at the ballot box.
Committee chairperson Khusela Sangoni Diko emphasised that the SABC cannot be expected to fulfil this critical public service and democratic mandate while it continues to be chronically defunded.
The committee further expressed concern about the government’s apparent disregard of the serious financial constraints under which the public broadcaster operates.
Sustainable funding model
The committee is also concerned by the slow pace in dealing with the pressing challenge of a sustainable public broadcasting funding model, which has placed increasing pressure on the corporation’s ability to fulfil its statutory mandate.
Too little, too late
Last year, the SABC requested dedicated funding to support its election coverage.
This matter should never have been left to be the challenge it is now, as this could jeopardise the depth and scope of the public broadcasters election coverage, thus leaving parties unevenly profiled.
The committee also noted that the scale and complexity of local government elections require the extensive deployment of personnel, technology and broadcasting infrastructure across the country.
This includes election-related programming, voter education, news coverage, political debates, outside broadcasts and the dissemination of election results.
In addition to funding, the committee underscored the importance of strong editorial governance and oversight measures within the SABC to ensure that its election coverage of all political parties contesting the elections is fair, balanced and equitable.
The committee will continue to exercise its oversight responsibility over the public broadcaster and monitor its preparations for the 2026 Local Government Elections, including progress in securing the resources required to execute its election mandate.
Concern from media organisations
The SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition and Moxii Africa (formerly Media Monitoring Africa) have voiced their concerns about continued lack of adequate funding for the SABC.
In a statement, they said: "The SOS Coalition and Moxii Africa believe that this is not simply a matter of providing additional resources to the public broadcaster. It is essentially about protecting citizens’ right to access information and ensuring meaningful participation in South Africa’s democracy.
"As the country’s public broadcaster, the SABC has a unique responsibility to ensure that voters across South Africa have access to reliable, accurate and impartial information about the elections. Its extensive radio and television services provide access to audiences across the country, including communities that may not have reliable or affordable access to digital platforms.
"Importantly, the SABC’s ability to communicate with South Africans in their own languages is central to this mandate. Its services reach audiences across South Africa’s linguistic diversity, making it particularly important during elections."
Unconducive environment
In the statement, it adds, "It is a well-known fact that the SABC’s public service mandate is inadequately funded and the SABC cannot function like this; something must change.
"However, the problem is no longer simply that the public service mandate is underfunded; the broader institutional conditions and the policy environment under which the SABC is expected to fulfil this mandate are becoming increasingly unsustainable."
It says that the delay in finalising the Draft White Paper on Audio-Visual Media Services and Online Safety continues to create an environment that is unconducive for the SABC to thrive.
Public crisis
"Institutional deterioration also persists, as recently highlighted by Steven Grootes in the Daily Maverick.
"His stark assessment of the decline of an institution that remains essential to South Africa’s democracy should not be taken lightly.
"The SABC’s deterioration must be recognised as a public crisis requiring urgent government intervention, rather than being treated simply as a problem that the public broadcaster can resolve through greater commercialisation."
It notes, "Election coverage is a public service, not merely a commercial product. The SABC should not be forced to rely primarily on advertising and other commercial revenues to finance its public mandate.
"The SOS Coalition and Moxii Africa therefore call on the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies to urgently finalise SABC’s funding model, and the Draft White Paper to ensure adequate funding for the SABC and a conducive policy environment.
"We further call on the National Treasury to recognise the critical role the SABC plays in South Africa’s democracy and to provide the public broadcaster with the funding required to fulfil its mandate.
"Credible information is the engine of any democracy. Without a strong, independent and adequately funded public broadcaster, millions of South Africans, particularly those in rural and underserved communities risk being deprived of the information they need to participate meaningfully in our democracy."
