South Africa: SABC to restructure
June 15, 2020
By Chris Forrester
South Africa’s public broadcaster SABC is promising to completely restructure itself in order to avoid the frequent financial bail-outs from government.
South Africa’s finance ministry is requiring SABC to create a new operating model and to work within the nation’s “new business requirements and market conditions […] as well as the need to effectively implement the approved turnaround strategy [at SABC]”.
SABC has been badly run with frequent allegations of deliberate mismanagement, fraud and cronyism. One local report described a former COO (Hlaudi Motsoeneng) as being “ruinous” during his 2011-2013 tenure. He was removed after it was discovered that he had lied about his qualifications.
In a statement on June 11th SABC said it had been “severely impacted by the ongoing economic downturn, ever-changing consumer needs and content consumption patterns, as well as rapid technological advancements”.
“The SABC has started engagements with employees, labour representatives and other key takeholders, outlining the unavoidable and urgent need for this strategic renewal initiative,” said the statement.