TV licence crackdown looms over government dodgers

Communications Minister Solly Malatsi has slammed the South African government for failing to take the lead and pay its TV licence fees, which puts pressure on the already struggling South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

This comes after the public broadcaster revealed that government entities and departments owe it nearly R35 million in unpaid TV licence fees.

In a statement on Tuesday, 22 October 2024, the minister urged government departments to pay for the services they use, including the SABC’s TV licence scheme.

“The culture of non-payment of public services such as TV licenses is unacceptable,” said Malatsi.

“Government, as a leader in our society, must set the high standard for compliance with legal and financial responsibilities.”

He added that if all government departments were to pay their TV licence fees on time, it would significantly reduce the burden on the public broadcaster.

Malatsi said he had contacted Deputy President Paul Mashatile to request urgent intervention in addressing the issue of unpaid TV licence fees by government departments.

“The SABC relies on the collection of TV license fees as one of its key revenue streams to fund its operations,” he said.

“Yet, collectively, national and provincial governments and municipalities owe the SABC over R30 million in outstanding TV license fees.”

The public broadcaster recently revealed that the fees for 2,490 government department-owned TV sets remain unpaid.

However, while nearly R35 million remains outstanding, the government has reduced its TV licence bill compared to last year, when it owed the SABC R56 million.

The non-payment of TV licences in South Africa has increased in recent years, reaching 86% in the 2023/24 financial year. This has a significant impact on the public broadcaster’s finances.

For reference, the SABC billed roughly R5 billion in TV licence fees in 2023/24 but only collected R726 million.

Malatsi acknowledged this challenge in his statements, saying the government must take steps to reduce the burden on the national fiscus by ensuring the broadcaster has the resources required to fulfil its mandate.

“While the need for a new, credible and effective funding model for the SABC is being prioritised, it remains imperative that all stakeholders, including government departments, must pay for services they use,” he said.

“This will assist in the transition towards a more sustainable financial model for the SABC, which is critical for the broadcaster to deliver on its core mandate of providing independent, and quality public broadcasting services to all South Africans.”

Disconnection threats

The SABC is facing two major disconnection threats in the form of South Africa’s plan to switch off analogue TV signals later this year and state-owned signal distributor Sentech’s threat to cut it off due to non-payment.

The public broadcaster believes that many South Africans could be left behind with the current tentative deadline of 31 December 2024, as households with analogue TV sets require a government-subsidised set-top box (STB) to receive digital TV signals before the deadline.

Without the STB, these households will lose access to TV broadcasts.

SABC chief financial officer Yolanda van Biljon said many South Africans could be disadvantaged and urged the government not to switch off the signals “just because a deadline’s being chased”.

The public broadcaster also owes the state signal distributor nearly R1 billion in unpaid bills, which has led Sentech to threaten to cut off the SABC’s TV and radio signals.

However, Malatsi has stepped in and offered the public broadcaster a lifeline. He facilitated a deal where Sentech won’t switch off the SABC’s signals for at least two months while it explores alternative funding.

He said the agreement would allow around three million South Africans to continue enjoying TV and radio services.

“These South Africans were at risk of losing access to radio and TV due to the SABC’s struggles with paying Sentech, but after meeting with both parties, we’ve agreed to keep services running for the next two months while we explore long-term solutions,” the minister said.