Ramaphosa greenlights SABC, Eskom probe
President Cyril Ramaphosa has instructed South Africa’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) to investigate the dubious partnership between SABC and formerly Gupta-owned The New Age (TNA) Media.
This concerns a deal between the two businesses for “The New Age Breakfast Briefings brought to you by SABC hosted by TNA,” aired on SABC 2’s Morning Live.
The Gupta brothers — Atul, Ajay, and Rajesh “Tony” Gupta — previously owned TNA Media. They were accused of corruption and fled to the United Arab Emirates.
Their business has been stalling since 2018, when the New Age newspaper and the Guptas’ television news channel, ANN7, shut down.
The SIU will also investigate other state-owned companies’ expenditures of public funds on the agreement.
These state institutions are Transnet, PetroSA, South African Airways, Eskom, and the Department of Human Settlements.
The objective of the investigation is to determine whether the expenditures and actions of the state bodies related to the agreement were not fair, competitive, transparent, or equitable.
Secondly, the SIU is to report on any unlawful conduct by employees or officials of these state institutions, including TNA Media and any other stakeholders involved.
The State Capture Commission, led by former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, revealed in 2022 that TNA Media got the broadcast for free under its agreement with the SABC.
Instead, it was typically sponsored by state entities like Eskom and Transnet, which paid millions to support the events.
It costs the SABC at least R1 million or more to host one breakfast show, which is R5 million a month or R60 million a year.
This was according to evidence provided by SABC employees to Parliament’s SABC ad-hoc committee in 2017.
This came straight from SABC News’ budget, despite the SABC typically charging R18,000 per 30 seconds of broadcasting.
At the time, the breakfast shows were 45 minutes each.
However, TNA Media maintained that the costs of the show were split.
The SABC’s costs for broadcasting and production included accommodation for production staff, studio time, and outside-broadcast vans.
Then SABC CEO Lulama Mokhobo testified to the State Capture Commission that the Guptas lobbied her about this agreement just one week after she was appointed to the position.
This occurred when she was taken by SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng to the Saxonwold home of the Guptas, only being told that someone wanted to congratulate her.
Mokhobo said she was then informed that the Guptas wanted to create a news channel and asked if she would help them get access to one.
She then began implementing a contract between SABC and TNA Media to formalise the TNA Breakfast Briefings.
This was because the arrangement started before her appointment, and she felt the SABC was neglecting the fact that no contract was in place to protect either party.
“There was eventually going to be an audit finding because if a relationship is regular, it has to be regulated,” Mokhobo said during the inquiry.
Mokhobo pointed out that the SABC did not invoice TNA Media for the airtime because the breakfast shows formed part of its news offering, which policy barred it from doing.
Once the contract had been signed, she also noticed that the shows began to air more frequently. Mokhobo was told that this was because the show brought the government to the people.
Further state capture investigations
The SABC and the SIU have requested permission to serve Varun and Atul Gupta with a notice of motion over social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Varun is Atul’s nephew.
The State Capture Commission also revealed that former president Jacob Zuma was involved in a controversial advertising deal that led to the SABC’s loss of R4.3 million in advertising revenue for TNA Media and ANN7.
“The contract in question was irregular and was created for the benefit of TNA Media and or the members of the Gupta family to the detriment of the mandate that the SABC has towards the public,” the Zondo Commission’s report reads.
“The SABC should consider instituting civil proceedings against TNA Media or any of its directors and recover all the costs incurred by the SABC, including disgorgement of profits made by TNA Media about the breakfast shows.”
The public broadcaster and SIU hope to recover costs and profits made by TNA Media from the Gupta family’s assets.
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