BREAKING. Two high-level SABC executives, Lerato Nage and Itani Tseisi leaving the public broadcaster.

The SABC's group executive for risk, Itani Tseitsi and Lerato Nage, the acting chief executive officer (COO) at the SABC have left eh public broadcaster, with the SABC saying in a just-issued press release that "the fact that senior managers leave the SABC does not imply that the organisation is in crisis."

Tongues are wagging within South Africa's TV industry after the SABC has lost another two high-level executives. Meanwhile the SABC's group CEO, Lulama Mokhobo is still at odds with the head of news and current affairs, Phil Molefe.

"The fact that senior managers leave the SABC does not imply that the organisation is in crisis," says the SABC. "Like any other company, employees have the free choice and will resign from an organisation, to pursue other career avenues."

OPINION. The SABC's annual report 2010/2011 is a cringe-inducing stretch about how the broadcaster 'supports' the local TV content industry.

The SABC's just-released annual report 2010/2011 will be a truly cringe-inducing read for the local South African TV industry - struggling terribly the past few years after the SABC all but basically stopped commissioning new local content.

ALSO READ: The latest SABC annual report 2010/2011 is once again unprofessionally looking; gives the impression of a primary school assignment.

ALSO READ: SABC annual report 2010/2011: TV news bulletins, current affairs, under pressure as viewership of flagship shows keeps dropping.

Yet the SABC in an annual report filled with several misrepresentations and half-truths, include ridiculous statements that's simply not true and effusively go on in the latest annual report on how the South African public broadcaster is supporting the local content industry.

The SABC can't stop emphasising how supporting, caring and helping it is towards the local South African TV production sector and how the SABC celebrates the successes. The painful irony couldn't cut any deeper.

Of course there's nobody actually checking the blatant inaccuracies in the SABC's annual report 2010/2011. The broadcaster makes all kinds of sweeping statements and generalizations that's simply not true and not grounded in reality - except for the trashy Safta awards the struggling broadcaster rightly did win at that devoid-of-all-credibility shamfest of a South African awards ceremony. Why anyone in their right mind would actually want to include that in their official annual report is another matter entirely.

Who are the people who compiled and read and supposedly approved this messy SABC annual report? The SABC's annual report of 2010/2011 is not really worse than last year's really badly done one, but it's on the same level bad.

Just after the embarrassing photo on page 6 of the SABC3 continuity presenters (can someone please tell the upper SABC exec-ey people who seems out of touch that they don't do or have that anymore?) (like Jason Greer who's now been with M-Net for years) the dear dr Ben Ngubane, SABC chairperson says ''ongoing interaction has occurred with all labour groups from the commencement of the turnaround process, while communication channels have been kept interactive and dynamic''.
Reality check: Not one labour union at the SABC will agree with this statement.

''The organisation continued with its regular local content programming, with several new and groundbreaking shows being commissioned and broadcast during the 2010/11 financial year,'' says the acting group CEO Phil Molefe.
Reality check: Phil Molefe must be talking about some advertiser-funded production (AFP's). And the bit about regular local content programming is blatantly not accurate.

Later, on page 24, explaining why the SABC's TV channel's lost audience share, the SABC suddenly does a turn-around and says it because of ''increased competition and reduced investment on local content'' and that especially SABC3 suffered because of ''increased competition from broadcasters; lack of investment in new content and poor scheduling strategies''.

''Despite austerity measures, which significantly affected local programme commissioning, the SABC generally met its mandate,'' says the SABC on page 57.

Then Phil Molefe states in the SABC's annual report 2010/2011 that ''during the year under review, the SABC continued to cement good relations with all key stakeholders in the creative industry, business community, suppliers, various social partners, and the public at large.''
Reality check: What a stretch. The SABC does not have a good relationship with the press and does not have a good relationship with local producers and the local production industry at large who have to usually beg for facetime and meetings.

Is it a wonder that Lerato Nage, the acting chief financial officer (CFO) notes: ''Challenges have been encountered with maintenance of accurate listings of local content which have led to the audit qualification.''

''In the year under review all channels exceeded their overall local content quotas – 55% and 35% for Public and Public Commercial Channels respectively,'' says the SABC on page 60.
Reality check: I wonder how the SABC determines that, given that the regulator, ICASA, says it's unable to monitor whether the SABC is in actual compliance with local content quotas?

Page 95 is also laughable. ''Being in the film industry, the SABC recognises the fact that its future sustainability and competitive edge, relies on a strong and professional film industry, and as such continues to lend ongoing support to the industry,'' says the SABC.
Reality check: Yeah, right.

BREAKING. Did the SABC's acting chief financial officer, Lerato Nage, jet to Monaco in business class to attend a financial investment conference?

Sources claim that the acting chief financial officer (CFO) of the SABC, Lerato Nage, went to Monaco last week to attend a financial investment conference.

''The SABC does not have money to properly pay its creditors, let alone invest anything,'' says a trade unionist. According to sources the cost to attend the conference was R150 000, with the SABC that also paid for a return business flight to Monaco and accomodation.

I've made a media enuquiry to the SABC to ask if the broadcaster can confirm the Monaco trip, as well as what the trip exactly entailed. At the time of writing this, 2 hours later, the SABC have not yet responded on the media enquiry that was made.