by Thinus Ferreira
South Africa's embattled public broadcaster won't have its signals cut over non-payment for the next two months.
The cash-strapped and technically insolvent SABC is battling two major existential threats.
Firstly the SABC is facing signal loss and having the signals from its TV and radio channels axed by parastatal signal distributor Sentech which the SABC simply stopped paying and owes over R1.3 billion. Sentech has threatened that it will cut the broadcaster's signals.
Secondly, the SABC that has experienced a massive TV ratings loss due to it already, faces the dire threat of having millions of its viewers completely wiped away when the South African government plans to switch off the last of South Africa's analogue signal towers on 31 December before viewers have been properly help to migrate to digital terrestrial television (DTT) options.
Now Solly Malatsi, South Africa's latest minister of communications and digital technologies, says he has intervened to prevent Sentech from axing the SABC's signals for at least another two months.
That gives the SABC some further breathing space on the one problem, although Malatsi remains silent on the SABC's looming analogue switch-off disaster which is as pressing a problem.
Malatsi in a statement says he intervened and set up a meeting between the SABC and Sentech to find a solution to the SABC's inability and unwillingness to pay Sentech and the risk that South Africans would be cut off due to the SABC's non-payment.
Malatsi says the latest agreement is that Sentech "will not switch off the public broadcaster for at least the next two months while we are exploring options to have a long-term sustainability model for the SABC".
"These options include National Treasury's decision on the application by the SABC to reclassify its grant which would allow for part of its allocation to be used to pay Sentech for signal distribution services."
Malatsi says "While the SABC has been making steady progress towards improving its financial standing, the fact is that it has not been able to fully pay Sentech for services rendered. At the same time, Sentech is at risk of running out of cash due to the non-payment, a risk that may even affect other broadcasters".
"I am determined to prioritise the development and finalisation of the financial model for the SABC to ensure that it becomes sustainable, able to pay its creditors and to deliver on its core function of providing accessible, diverse, and impartial news, entertainment, and educational content to the public."
