Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) political party demands the SABC 'pay back the money' after minister Bathabile Dlamini's scandalous pay-for-play interview on Real Talk with Anele on SABC3.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) political party is demanding that the SABC "pay back the money as it is complicit in the corruption of the minister" after the scandalous pay-for-play revelation that the minister of social development Bathabile Dlamini paid thousands of rands to the broadcaster so that she could be interviewed on Real Talk with Anele on SABC3.

The shocking revelation on Wednesday that the SABC accepts money for a politician to be interviewed on its airwaves - and not even disclosing it - has inflicted massive further reputational and brand damage on the SABC's credibility as a public broadcaster.

The scandal is also doing damage to the image of talk show host Anele Mdoda, the production company Cheeky Media and the show's executive producers Yusuf Stevens and Janez Vermeiren, as well as SABC3.

So far there been no official statements from the SABC, Cheeky Media, SABC3 or Anele Mdoda, with Cheeky Media that referred media enquiries to the SABC, and the SABC that hasn't responded with answers to media enquiries made on Wednesday.

The report from Daily Maverick exposed a horrific lapse of SABC editorial control and safeguards, standards and ethics.

Real Talk with Anele, Cheeky Media and the SABC, are in breach of the SABC's own editorial policy that clearly states that "where there is programme sponsorship, the sponsor's association with the programme has to be stated clearly, both before and after the programme".

They are also in breach of the SABC's editorial policy in terms of "information programming" that states that the SABC should "disclose all the essential facts and not suppress relevant, available facts".

Likewise infomercials and paid-for content in programmes on the SABC "must be labelled in such a way as to make clear that they are not programme material" the SABC's editorial policy states.

"We call on the SABC board to immediately institute an investigation and all who are guilty must face prosecution," said the EFF in a statement on Thursday.

"In addition, we call on parliament to also take the necessary steps to discipline the minister of social development, Bathabile Dlamini."

"The EFF condemns the department of social development and SABC for exchanging R500 000 of taxpayers’ money for Bathabile Dlamini to talk about herself on the SABC3 programme Real Talk with Anele."

"This is consistent with how ministers in general have been paying Gupta Business Breakfast briefings on SABC for interviews. Here, not only have departments paid The New Age, also SABC has itself done so."

"The EFF rejects the justification that Bathabile Dlamini’s interview was an advert for the work she does in government."

"The 80% of the interview was about herself and the ANC Women's League. In essence, taxpayers’ money was used to profile Bathabile Dlamini and not government social development work."

The EFF statement comes after the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party that in a statement also said Bathabile Dlamini must pay back the R500 000 that "could have paid more than 300 social grants. It is shocking that the department had the audacity to supposedly use public money for an interview".

"It is mandated to serve the poor, needy and vulnerable within our society, it is not mandated to use taxpayers' money to make floundering ministers look good." The DA said it would submit a range of parliamentary questions to "get to the bottom of this likely abuse of taxpayers' money".

So far the SABC board has been silent over the scandal.

There's been no comment or statement from SABC board chairperson Bongumusa Makhathini.

The SABC board also has journalists serving on it in the form of Mathatha Tsedu and John Matisonn with neither who have said anything so far about the latest scandal rocking the South African public broadcaster's credibility.

In July 2017 the SABC interim board member Mathatha Tsedu (now a permanent SABC board member) addressed the SABC's damaged credibility problem in South Africa's parliament and said "every time there is a cycle of bad news around the SABC, the revenues from the SABC TV licences dip."

"How do you get credibility back into the products that the SABC produces? The credibility of the SABC is not just judged by how Muvhango's story line is going or how 7de Laan's story line is going. The major credibility point of the SABC is its news output."

Parliament chooses 12 new permanent SABC board members; shuts out SA's TV production sector with no representation.

Parliament has chosen a new permanent SABC board that includes the entire 5-person interim SABC board as well as one former SABC board member but not a single person from South Africa's TV production sector responsible for giving the SABC its local content.

The names of the 12 SABC board nominees will become permanent after president Jacob Zuma has rubber-stamped their appointment.

On Tuesday parliament's portfolio committee for communications nominated the entire 5-person SABC interim board to continue serving. These include Khanyisile Kweyama, Mathatha Tsedu, Krish Naidoo, Febe Potgieter-Gqubule and John Matisonn.

The former SABC board member Rachel Kalidass who was fired previously, has been chosen to return.

Other members include Nomvuyiso Batyi, Michael Markovitz, Bongumusa Makhathini, Dinkwanyane Mohuba, Victor Rambau and Jack Phalane.

The 12 names will be submitted to the National Assembly for adoption and recommendation to President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday.

The term of the current interim SABC board expires at the end of this month.

The new SABC board interestingly doesn't include a single person from South Africa's production industry, although some applied.

With the SABC sinking financially and losing ratings, the South African public broadcaster desperately needs people with actual, broad-based broadcasting experience - something in short supply in the new SABC board.

Going forward, the struggling SABC battling to pay producers and production companies and to make quality local content, will not have a single person from this very important sector representing their voice on the SABC board.

In a statement on Tuesday afternoon the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party's member of parliament, Phumzile Van Damme, said that the ANC political party, "given an opportunity to give the SABC a new start", instead "chose to use their majority to force unsuitable candidates onto the SABC board".

"Despite the best efforts of the DA and other opposition parties in the committee, it seems as through cadre-deployment is yet again set to return to the SABC".

The DA and other opposition parties strongly objected to the re-deployment of ANC cadres Febe Potgieter-Gqubule and Krish Naidoo on the new SABC board.

The EFF political party member of parliament Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said Febe Potgieter-Gqubule "failed dismally to understand the times and epoch the SABC is entering. She thinks it is correct being an ANC deployee into the board".

Febe Potgieter-Gqubule revealed during her interview that she could be running for the ANC NEC if nominated, and Krish Naidoo word as a legal advisor in Luthuli House for the ANC.

Dikwanyane Mohuba who also has no broadcasting experience is connected to former ANC Limpopo chairperson Cassel Mathale and Bongumusa Makhathini who knows nothing about public broadcasting is the chairperson of the foundation of Jacob Zuma's wife, Bongi Ngema-Zuma.

MultiChoice: No comment after SABC's acting CEO James Aguma says it wants DStv forced to collect TV licence fees on behalf of the SABC.

MultiChoice says it has no comment after acting SABC CEO James Aguma shocked last week when he told parliament that the SABC wants DStv to be forced to collect TV licence fees on behalf of the public broadcaster.

The financially underwater SABC keeps sinking and is awaiting yet another multi-mullion rand government bailout similar to the R1.47 billion government guaranteed Nedbank loan it got in 2009 when it came to the brink of financial collapse.

With only about a third of SABC TV licence holders actually paying their licence fees and the SABC projecting TV licence revenues to fall another 8% this year due to inept collecting operations, the embattled South African public broadcaster is looking at inventive ways to try and boost this income stream.

James Aguma told parliament's portfolio committee on communications last week that it wants South Africa's Broadcasting Act changed and wants commercial broadcasters "compelled" to "make sure that they can collect TV licences on behalf of the SABC".

It's not clear why the SABC as a public broadcaster wants private companies to collect its income.

SABC interim board member John Matisonn told parliament that the public broadcaster is looking at strategies to improve overall SABC TV licence fee collection.

"There are other strategies, and the one we mention is probably not the right time to go further, is the question of what to do with people who buy a TV set just for DStv or something else. There's a couple of strategies but I'm not sure this is the moment to explain them yet."

MultiChoice in response to a media enquiry says "MultiChoice has noted the remarks attributed to the acting group CEO of the SABC. We have no comment at this stage".

While MultiChoice doesn't have any comment at this stage, the SABC came up with the same plan in 2009 when the public broadcaster last came to the brink of collapse, saying it wanted to get MultiChoice's subscriber information to see who has a DStv subscription but not a valid SABC TV licence.

In July 2009 MultiChoice's then COO, Collins Khumalo told me the SABC should keep its hands off DStv subscribers' information and find other ways to fix its financial mess.

"We will never give our clients' information to anyone," MultiChoice said at the time.

"As a business we don't sell our database to anyone. We also don't give our database information to anyone. Our clients come to us and trust us with their information. We will resist attempts if we are expected to make that information available," MultiChoice said in 2009.

"Yes, the SABC is facing challenges to generate more income, but we don't believe we are the solution to their problems. I believe they can come up with other, more creative ways to solve their problems and improve their income," MultiChoice said at the time.

While the SABC has 146 staffers in its SABC TV licence fee division, the broadcaster outsourced the work to Lorna Vision that failed by more than 50% in the past year to meet its set target.

The SABC interim board told parliament it will be cancelling the contract as soon as possible.

The struggling SABC is deep in the red: After James Aguma in his previous parliamentary appearance in March said the SABC's finances are stable, he now admitted the broadcaster is in a financial crisis.

The SABC recorded a massive loss of R509 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 and its losses in the three quarters of 2016/2017 now stands at over R1 billion - its biggest loss in a financial year.