SABC plans to pay back the outstanding R220 million of 2009 government bail-out loan by September.

The SABC plans to pay back the outstanding R220 million which the South African public broadcaster owes the South African government by September, Dina Pule, the minister of communications, told parliament.

Dina Pule was reading her budget speech in the National Assembly. In 2009, hovering on the brink of financial collapse, the SABC received a government bail-out of R1,47 billion in the form of a government guaranteed loan from Nedbank.

"The SABC plans to pay the outstanding balance of R220 million within four months," Dina Pule told parliament.

The SABC would however not be able to launch a multitude of new TV channels immediately when South Africa's TV industry moves from analogue to digital broadcasting or digital terrestrial television (DTT), a process known as digital migration and which has been long-delayed.

"The SABC can immediately migrate the existing three TV channels to the DTT platform and launch new channels in due course," said Dina Pule.

She said that corporate governance issues are still hampering the SABC. "I will be consulting with the portfolio committee on communications to explore an urgent review and amendment to the Broadcasting Act," said Dina Pule.

She also wants the minister of communications to have a say in what people gets appointed to the SABC board, although the SABC is a "public broadcaster" and as a government minister such a change to the Broadcasting Act would turn the SABC into a "state broadcaster".

"The minister was not at the interviews, the minister does not know who was interviewed and the kinds of qualifications that these people have, and what the parliamentary committee saw in these members - and when there is a challenge, the minister must answer," said Dina Pule.