The Sunday Times reports that the cash-strapped SA Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC’s) turnaround plan includes cutting staff by up to 33% and closing down five offices.
The decision is contained in the broadcaster’s latest road-map strategy, which is now being further tweaked in a bid to gain the support of the Treasury and the department of communications (DOC).
The document, seen by The Sunday Times, also proposes:
● Cutting 19 general manager posts, saving R28.5m a year;
● Dissolving SABC Sport and incorporating it in the television and radio division;
● Reducing management by 37%, thereby saving R82m; and
● Cutting news staff by 233 from the current 936, saving R62.23m.
Phase 1 of the plan requires all group executives to present plans to their executive directors by the first week of August on how to cut personnel costs by 30%. This is expected to shave R279m a year in costs. Phase 1 also includes a “report to the shareholder on pending retrenchments”.
Last month SABC board chair Bongumusa Makhathini told The Sunday Times that at the end of May, the corporation had to choose between paying salaries or its municipal account. The broadcaster owes the City of Johannesburg more than R13.5m and is heavily indebted to various other suppliers.
The turnaround plan — initially approved by the board in August last year — was rejected by the finance and communications ministries when the SABC applied for a R3.2bn government guarantee in March.
However, a senior source at the SABC said the strategy was still being implemented by the broadcaster. “There are a few changes here and there as proposed by Treasury and DOC, but those inputs haven’t changed the plan drastically.”
The plan states that of the SABC’s 300 independent news contractors, 100 must be cut. A further 101 must be cut from the sports section and 86 from the media technology and infrastructure unit. This, the broadcaster says, will save it R77.5m a year.
The plan includes closing offices in Tshwane, Montague Gardens in Cape Town, Ulundi, Kimberley and George, thereby saving R25.5m a year.
“The primary goal is to create efficiencies and therefore realise cost savings on total staff bill of R3.02bn and operational costs,” the document reads.
SABC spokesperson Vuyo Mthembu said the SABC would not comment on documents that contain “commercially sensitive” information.
Last month finance minister Tito Mboweni informed communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams that the Treasury was declining a R3.2bn bail-out request from the SABC. However, Ndabeni-Abrahams announced in her budget speech this week that the broadcaster would receive urgent “interim” financial relief from the Treasury in the next 10 days, with the balance to be released 45 days after that.
Communications spokesperson Nthabeleng Mokitimi-Dlamini said the government was committed to strengthening the SABC.
- The original of the above report by Mpumzi Zuzile appeared on page 1 of The Sunday Times of 14 July 2019
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