Stop meddling with SABC, Outa tells government

The board was appointed by former president Jacob Zuma in September 2017.

Eyewitness News reported on Thursday that the broadcaster’s interim board was being investigated by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) over the irregular awarding of a multibillion-rand contract.

“While Outa sympathises with those who face retrenchment, tough decisions need to be made to turn around the public broadcaster’s finances. We suggest that cuts are made where there were irregular appointments and to management salaries.

“Outa hoped that the new minister [Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams] would restore the public’s confidence in the communications industry. However, she is apparently perpetuating the pattern of political meddling that was synonymous with the previous administration,” said Duvenage.

The organisation accused the ruling party of taking control of the public broadcaster ahead of next year’s general elections, something it said would compromise the integrity of the SABC and deny the public access to unbiased information.

“We have seen this episode before and encourage the minister to re-evaluate her stance to intervene in decisions aimed at improving the financial stability of the SABC,” said Duvenage.

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