OPINION. How CNBC Africa has become largely completely irrelevant when it comes to live coverage of actual real business news.

While 24 news and especially business TV channels went with live coverage and decisive commentary about Europe's monetary crisis and the global economic shockwaves centered on the Greek parliament's vote of confidence Friday night, CNBC Africa (DStv 410) showed just how out-of-touch and irrelevant the channel has become for South African viewers.

With the world eyes - and business and news channels - focused on Greece's confidence vote, CNBC Africa appeared hopelessly irrelevant, seemingly lacking in being able to respond to yet another live and happening economic news event of global importance. It was the latest in a long line of head-shaking missteps showing how CNBC Africa is just not as geared as other TV news channels when it comes to actually covering major news that has relevance for South Africa. (Note that the other local South African business news channel, Summit (DStv 412) was not running, muting comparison between these specific two.)

While other TV channels focused on the Greek tragedy as it happened, CNBC Africa - that surely has the possibility of switching to strong partners like CNBC in America or CNBC Europe - blatantly and embarrassingly replayed a recorded studio panel discussion, Climate Change Perspectives. The closest CNBC Africa came to giving South African and African viewers anything remotely Greek in the same time as the major news played out on other channels, was Eleni Giokos who was the presenter of Climate Change Perspectives.

The same happens time and again on CNBC Africa when international news of magnitude breaks. The CNBC feed in America has special programming on a big news day with quick-added specials which viewers might even be told about on screen. But CNBC Africa then cuts away to irrelevant, often repeat local programming, or don't even bother to tell the press about it when it did decide to break away and stay (longer) with extended CNBC in America coverage. Viewers of CNBC Africa have simply no idea whether they will see specials, or what really is going on with the CNBC Africa schedule from day to day.

While business channels all sent advisories on Friday that they will be checking and bring news and live coverage of the Greek parliament vote impacting global markets, CNBC Africa did ... nothing. In stark contrast Bloomberg Television (DStv 412) punted on Friday its special programming surrounding the European debt crisis and went straight into it after the Greek confidence vote, with the special Europe on Edge.

Furthermore CNBC Africa hardly has any programming alerts or schedule alerts regarding any changes for what it shows or plans to show, which means that viewers have become accustomed to tuning to other channels besides CNBC Africa when economic news breaks or insight is sought on sudden market news events.

By Thursday CNBC Africa's on-screen EPG contained absolutely no information past Saturday afternoon. That meant that by as late as Thursday, no shows for the weekend or later could be set to be recorded. There was no indication of what documentaries would be shown on CNBC Africa over the weekend. No specific programming information on an empty EPG for CNBC Africa meant no planning was possible to aid viewers in potential viewing choices.

In my view CNBC Africa would urgently need to, in some way, form or fashion, start to build trust in terms of programming information and specific, detailed updates. If viewers don't know, they don't care. And if they don't care, forget about getting them to watch or remember to watch.

For the time being don't worry about possibly missing anything on CNBC Africa if you're not watching. Climate change happens slowly, but CNBC Africa - unlike the fast-changing news cycle it seems unable to keep up with - seems to have at least climate change well covered.