The massive public protest by South Africa's civil society against the SABC set to take place this coming Thursday 24 November at 13:00 at the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters in Henley Avenue in Johannesburg will see a simultaneous public protest in Cape Town taking place at 13:00 in front of the visitor's centre at parliament.
Following a similar public protest in 2009 against South Africa's public broadcaster, a massive groundswell of organisations and groups representing the vast majority of South Africa's TV industry and ranging from telecommunication and media unions to academics, public pressure groups and trade bodies are demanding the immediate removal of dr Ben Ngubane as SABC chairperson.
Planning to wear black and red, the united effort comprising a vast number of groups representing thousands of workers and stakeholders across South Africa's television and film industry, are saying that they're fed up and tired of the SABC who remains unable to get it's house in order, with the organisation mired in debt and plagued by management instability.
Sources told TV with Thinus yesterday that there will definitely be a Cape Town public protest as well on Thursday 24 November at that representatives from different organisations will be at parliament to hand over a petition and memorandum at 13:30 on Thursday to the chairperson of the portfolio committee on communications at parliament, Eric Kholwane.
The SABC didn't respond this week to media enquiries about what the broadcaster is making of the planned protest, or the demand that dr Ben Ngubane step down as SABC chairperson.
The Support Public Broadcasting Coalition (SOS), a broad public pressure group comprising multiple organisations, trade unions, trade federations, media institutes and representing the independent TV and film production sector, says South African citizens ''demand a public broadcaster that has the resources and strategic leadership to meet the information needs of all South Africans''.
The SOS says it is ''calling for all concerned citizens to join a picket outside the SABC calling for visionary leadership at South Africa's public broadcaster now.''
''We need a new era of transparent financial accountability and good corporate governance [at the SABC].''
''We are calling for the chairperson of the SABC board dr Ben Ngubane to be removed. We demand an SABC that holds government and corporate power to account, and provides the information and platforms for discussions vital to the functioning of our democracy,'' says the SOS.
ALSO READ: Public picketing coming. SABC should prepare for a new round of public protest action outside its Auckland Park headquarters.
ALSO READ: Public protest action planned for 24 November at the SABC by a vast array of interest groups within the TV industry.
ALSO READ: Protesters asked to wear black and red and to ''bring your placards'' to the public protest on Thursday 24 November at the SABC.
ALSO READ: ''Visionary Leadership Now'' the name of this coming Thursday's public protest action agains the SABC on 24 November at 13:00.
ALSO READ: Ordinary South African TV viewers and radio listeners asked to join the planned public protest action on Thursday at 13:00 at the SABC.
ALSO READ: ''We demand something better. Much, much better.'' - SOS Coalition's message to the SABC for Thursday's public protest.
ALSO READ: ''We need to fight for our public broadcaster,'' says the South African Screen Federation (Sasfed), asking members to join the SABC protest action.
ALSO READ: The Writers' Guild of South Africa (WGSA) a part of the public protest action against the SABC set for 24 November at 13:00.
