SABC’s plan to restore its image

The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) new leadership is seeking a service provider to revive its brand image and “restore trust among its audiences.”

This is according to a tender application posted on the SABC’s website.

“Over the past five to eight years, the SABC suffered chronic governance failures resulting in the collapse of the internal control environment, dysfunctional organisation, exposure to constant negative publicity, stakeholders, and clients losing confidence,” the notice stated.

“The tangible costs resulting from these failures were the losses suffered and instability in leadership positions.”

The notice highlights several root causes of the breakdown of internal controls, including collapsed governance processes, irregular appointments, and external, internal and forensic audit recommendations neglected.

There is no mention of the SABC’s budget for this project.

However, veteran broadcasting journalist Thinus Ferreira points out that this is not the first time the public broadcaster has hired a PR firm to boost its image.

In 2020, the SABC hired public relations agency PR Worx to spruce up its reputation for R2.3 million, despite having said that it wanted to retrench employees because of its financial situation.

The rationale behind the appointment of PR Worx was that the SABC said that its internal corporate communications team lacked the necessary skills.

The SABC once again finds itself in a contradictory financial situation where it can tend to the needs of its public image but continues to neglect the maintenance of its infrastructure.

For instance, the state broadcaster’s 28-story Radio Park office block is falling apart with lifts that are beyond repair, forcing staff and freelancers to climb the stairs daily.

In addition to the broken lifts, which last functioned in 2018, staff have complained about outdated toilet facilities and poorly lit stairs in the dilapidated building.

While there are escalators in the building, staff say they are perpetually unavailable and cordoned off.

As a result, some of the biggest radio stations in the country can’t invite guests for interviews, and those on lower floors need to warn interviewees about travelling up stairs.

These include RSG on the first floor, Channel Africa on the second floor, and SAfm on the sixth floor.

One worker said that lifts to the fourteenth floor did not work and only express lifts that serve the fifteenth to twenty-seventh floors, where management and top executives are housed, worked.

They added that ceiling panels were falling out and broadcasting had become a challenge because of old infrastructure, creating a sense of no leadership.

Employees of the SABC understand the importance of restoring its image as a public broadcaster, particularly following the Motsoeneng era, but believe the timing is suspicious, the City Press reports.

Motsoeneng served as the state broadcaster’s chief operating officer from 2011 to 2017 and was frequently in the media because of poor management and state capture-related investigations.

Former SABC CEO Lulama Mokhobo testified to the State Capture Commission that Motsoeneng introduced her to the Gupta brothers after her appointment in 2012.

At first, he told her they wanted to congratulate her on her appointment, but the meeting resulted in the brothers trying to convince her to give them access to a news channel.

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 that no contract was in place to protect either party.

President Cyril Ramaphosa greenlit an investigation into this partnership in 2024.