SABC finance boss slams rumours staffers won't get paid; admits 'very little trust and no faith certainly' inside broadcaster but implores staffers to give management a chance.

The SABC's finance boss Yolande van Biljon slammed rumours that staffers won't be paid by November but admitted about possible looming job cuts at the embattled South African public broadcaster that there's very little trust and no faith inside SABC corridors.

In an interview on Thursday on SABC News (DStv 404) Yolande van Biljon, the SABC's chief financial officer (CFO) that said the SABC's costs that are "bloated" said that "as a result of the history certainly there's very little trust and no faith certainly. But I do want to emplore our employees and speak to the public of South Africa - just give us a chance".

It's uncertain times. We're all uncertain. As I sit here I don't know where it's going to end as well," she said.

SABC News anchor Palesa Chubisi said rumours circulating inside the SABC that the 3 478 staffers won't get paid by the end of November since the cash-strapped broadcaster will then be out of money without serious intervention "has created a panic in the corridors of the SABC with the news going around that the SABC will not be able to pay its salaries at the end of November".

"My experience with the SABC for the past 12 years that I've been here is that there's never smoke without fire," Palesa Chubisi said.

It comes after the SABC chairperson Bongumusa Makhathini earlier this week when asked if the SABC will be able to pay staff salaries, said "if we don't get financial help, come November we are going to struggle".

Yolande van Biljon slammed the false rumours, saying "maybe these people spreading rumours know something I don't. To execute the payroll is the very first priority when it comes to payment priorities".

"So even if the funds are significantly constrained, if we need to cut that's definitely not the place where we take funds from."

She said "no, the rumours are certainly not true".

The bloated SABC's ballooning wage bill amounts to R3.1 billion, one of its biggest expenses, while the SABC as a broadcaster only spends R1.7 billion on content. The SABC is losing between R80 million and R90 million per month.

About the SABC's dwindling audiences and lack of enticing content, Yolande van Biljon said it's a "catch 22-situation".

"Because of the financial constraints we're unable to procure the kind of content that the audience requires because the audiences then migrate to where it is whether other platforms, digital or just don't watch the SABC anymore. You don't attract advertising revenue as well."

"So it's really a vicious circle and we need to start investing in our content."

About the less than a third of South African TV households who still bother to pay SABC TV Licences she said "if you don't have content that attracts people, then it doesn't motive them to pay".

Chairperson Bongumusa Makhithini in the SABC's annual report 2017/2018: Broadcaster's financial position 'under severe pressure', still paying for 'years of ineffective leadership', must urgently 'play catch-up' on tech front to reach audiences.

Bongumusa Makhithini, SABC chairperson, in his overview of the the public broadcaster's annual financial report for 2017/2018 writes that the South African public broadcaster's financial position remains "under severe pressure", saying the struggling and cash-strapped SABC is still paying for "years of ineffective leadership", while it must urgently "play catch-up" on technology front to reach audiences.

He cautions that the SABC overcame daunting challenges but that "the pattern seems to "continue with even greater severity for the year ahead".

He writes that the SABC board "continued to implement measures to stabilise the corporation at a governance level and stepped up actions to address the endemic levels of corruption and maladministration that had been prevalent at the SABC for many years."

The beleaguered South African public broadcaster described as "commercially insolvent" has posted a loss of R622 million for the 2017/2018 financial year with the country's Auditor-General (AG), Kimi Makwetu, saying he can't determine whether the cash-strapped South African public broadcaster remains a going concern.

This is the SABC's 8th consecutive, annual financial loss the past decade and also again got a disclaimer from the Auditor-General.

A disclaimer of opinion is the worst audit opinion from the Auditor-General and the most disturbing rating, where the auditor says an entity, like the SABC, is unable to provide sufficient supporting documents for its financial statement.

The SABC's also listed R5 billion in irregular expenditure.

"The SABC’s financial position remained under severe pressure. The corporation is still paying the price for years of ineffective leadership, failed governance and prejudicial decision-making. Self-inflicted actions, like the arbitrary 90/10 decision, continue to impact on the SABC’s revenue," Bongumusa Makhithini writes.

"The Corporation sits on a huge and unsustainable cost base, built up over time without proper
consideration for a workable operating model. Total revenue for the full financial year was R6.6 billion against a budget of R7.3 billion resulting in an under-performance of R633 million (9%)."

"While it is positive that the SABC managed to reduce the corporation’s operating loss from R1.1 billion in the prior year to R622 million in the year under review, the board has approved a comprehensive turnaround strategy to be led by the new team of executive directors," Bongumusa Makhithini writes.

He said the challenges to the SABC’s sustainability will not just be financial, noting that the SABC "must urgently 'play catch-up' on the technology front and embrace rapidly evolving digital technology platforms that reach audiences in new and exciting ways."

"The SABC faces an increasingly competitive multi-platform, digital world that is driven primarily by commercial interests. Therefore, the corporation has to chart a course that ensures our audiences can access SABC content everywhere, whilst protecting the public broadcaster’s long-term sustainability."

"The SABC is addressing the delay in the migration of television and radio services to digital broadcasting platforms. The corporation is resolved to play a more central role in achieving rapid migration to digital terrestrial television (DTT) and direct-to-home (DTH) platforms, working closely together with the department of communications and other key stakeholders."

"The SABC needs additional television channels to be able to fulfill its public mandate to broadcast more sport, education and entertainment programming. Our three analogue television channels cannot sustain the impact on commercial schedules from sport in particular," according to Bongumusa Makhithini.