Right2Know Campaign calls for urgent intervention to prevent an SABC blackout, says a black-on-air scenario will be a violation of South African citizens' rights.

The Right2Know Campaign is calling for urgent intervention to prevent a blackout at the beleaguered South African public broadcaster, saying that a possible impending black-on-air scenario when the SABC finally seizes up and is unable to broadcast any further will be a violation of South African citizens' rights.

On Sunday, Bongumusa Makhathini, SABC chairperson, warned that the SABC is finally on the verge of collapse with a blackout that could happen any moment.

"I’m not sure how we are going to pay for salaries come end of June," Bongumusa Makhathini said in a report in The Sunday Times.

The SABC that is perilously close to no longer broadcasting hasn't paid for municipal services like electricity at the end of May, choosing to rather pay SABC staff salaries. The SABC now owes the City of Johannesburg more than R13.5 million.

The SABC that is drowning in debt owes the parastatal signal distributor Sentech R317 million and MultiChoice's sports content division SuperSport over R208 million. Beyond that the SABC also owes millions to other content providers like independent South African production companies.

Nothing has so far come of the SABC's plea for a massive R6.8 billion in another government bailout.

On Monday, Yolande van Biljon, the SABC's CFO, warned in an interview with SABC News (DStv 404) that the beleaguered South African public broadcaster's "Day Zero can happen tomorrow" and refused to confirm that SABC staffers will be paid at the end of June.

Yolande van Biljon said that the SABC owes R1.8 billion to hundreds of companies.

Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) has called the government's inaction to help the SABC "despicable" and said that it looks like "a direct attempt to crash the SABC".

R2K in a statement is calling for urgent intervention to prevent an SABC blackout, saying R2K is "deeply concerned by the imminent possibility of an SABC blackout as a result of low cash flow and indebtedness".

"This is especially so, given that the SABC finds itself in this unacceptable financial position after decades of underfunding and recent years of mismanagement and corruption as a result of maladministration and state capture under the combined leadership of dismissed SABC COO,  Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the former SABC board and Faith Muthambi, the former minister of communications".

"The current SABC is charged with a mandate to draw up and implement a sound turnaround strategy to resolve this long-standing problem. This cannot be done with a commitment from the Treasury to commit increased public funding."

"We call for a turnaround strategy that addresses the systemic and long-standing problems including bloated top management and duplication of roles."

"If the screens go dark at the SABC it will be a violation of the ordinary citizens' fundamental right to communicate since this will lead to the inevitable deprivation of the people's right to access information."

"R2K is encouraged by the commitment shown by Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, minister of communications, to find an urgent solution to the immediate problem, including sourcing a bailout from Treasury."

"However, we urge all parties to find a lasting solution out of the financial quagmire that does not include yet another call by an state-owned enterprise for bailouts from an already depleted public fiscus."

"We call on the ministry, the current SABC board and the other roleplayers to take the public into their confidence in constructing a turn-around strategy and a rescue package that ensures that all interests are taken into account. Civil society too stands ready to assist our SABC," says R2K.

Right2Know slams SABC over its alleged 'blackout' on coverage of horrific xenophobia attacks in KwaZulu-Natal; says 'people have a right to be informed'.

The Right2Know public pressure group (R2K) has slammed the South African public broadcaster over its alleged "blackout" of coverage of shocking xenophobia attacks in the country's KwaZulu-Natal province.

"We strongly condemn the recent destructive and violent attacks on foreign nationals in KwaZulu-Natal," says R2K in a statement.

"The situation has reached a stage where we call on government and leaders to refrain from making utterances that can fuel anger and hate which as we see are resulting in widespread violence."

"We call on political leaders to refrain from a narrative that seeks to propose foreign nationals as the problem in this country which we view as an unfortunate attempt to divert attention from the real frustrations and genuine challenges faced by communities," says R2K.

"We cannot allow a situation where foreign nationals are used as a proxy for political battle".

R2K says "Currently, there are violent riots, stone throwing, trucks looted and burnt, cars set alight – a situation far from under control with no confirmed arrests. The time is now for the government to publicly show their concern for the events as unfolded in KZN."

"There is a large scale destruction and looting of foreign-owned shops and locally owned assets.  These xenophobic attacks are clearly not only an attack on foreigners but on South Africans too."

"The SABC blackout on this news is creating a false sense of security," says R2K.

"The reality in KwaZulu-Natal is being published via social media platforms and local radio stations. People have the right to be informed of occurrences that impact their lives."

"The public is walking into an ambush by not being informed of these spates of violence. As a national broadcaster, the SABC is mandated to broadcast our realities."

Crime catches Carte Blanche as the TV crew of M-Net's investigative magazine show, with guest presenter Masa Kekana in her first insert, gets held up and robbed at gunpoint.

Crime caught up with Carte Blanche as the crew of M-Net's (DStv 101) weekly investigative and current affairs show got held up and robbed at gunpoint - ironically while filming an insert at a "dead" corner where there are no cameras installed for a story about the proliferation of Vumatel's Vumacam surveillance cameras in Johannesburg.

A new surveillance camera system, Vumacam from Vumatel, is being rolled out in the Johannesburg central business district (CBD) and surrounding suburbs as a R500 million high-tech solution to South Africa's rising crime rates, but some people are objecting over privacy concerns.

The radio presenter Masa Kekana joined Carte Blanche to do her first insert as a guest presenter produced by Sophia Phirippides, but then endured a baptism of fire when Masa Kekana and the crew suddenly became a crime statistic after they were held up and robbed at gunpoint with no visual footage to show for it.

Masa Kekana interviewed spokesperson Murray Hunter of the civil rights organisation Right2Know (R2K) on a suburb streetcorner in Johannesburg with cameraman Thabo Maleswene, with the organisation that has serious misgiving about how the Vumacam surveillance system and cameras are being rolled out.

A Vumacam street pole was already erected on the street corner, but no cameras have been installed yet.

"Minutes later," said Masa Kekana, "our whole crew was robbed at gunpoint. All our equipment was stolen but thankfully no-one was harmed". The robbers - two men - were loitering nearby and scouting out the area and the Carte Blanche team until they decided to make their armed attack on the TV crew.

After the robbery and recovering from their harrowing ordeal, Carte Blanche returned to the same street corner to finish the R2k interview for the insert, but with security guards in a bakkie of the ADT security company parked nearby.

Sunday's episode of Carte Blanche with the Vumacam story is now available on DStv Now's Catch Up service.

Right2Know calls for urgent, full and transparent investigation into possible state capture of South Africa's TV and broadcasting sector.

The Right2Know organisation (R2K) and public pressure group in an open letter is calling for an urgent, full and transparent investigation into how possible state capture of South Africa's TV and broadcasting sector, and how this alleged state capture has impacted broadcasting and public broadcasting in the country.

Right2Know, in its open letter, is urging Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, chair of the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture, to investigate what R2K refers to as "evidence and allegations of state capture and associated corruption in South Africa's broadcasting sector".

Lazola Kati and Dale McKinley of R2K say that R2K aligns itself with a previous submission done by the SOS Coalition and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) non-profit organisations and public pressure groups acting as media and broadcasting watchdog organisations in South Africa.

In September 2018 both SOS and MMA submitted a joint statement to the commission asking for an urgent investigation into the extent of state capture in South Africa's broadcasting sector.

R2K refers to "serious allegations in the public domain" as part of the reason for a full and transparent investigation that is needed into South Africa's broadcasting sector.

This in part relates to Naspers' MultiChoice pay-TV operator (that will be listing on the JSE at the end of this month), the notorious Gupta family's now-shuttered ANN7, the SABC as South Africa's public broadcaster, eMedia Investments' e.tv, Faith Muthambi as South Africa's former minister of communications and the department of communications.

Big unanswered questions remain around South Africa's seriously delayed and allegedly "hijacked" switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT), a process known as digital migration that has been fraught with delays, corruption, infighting and incessant changes.

Evidence "strongly suggests that various actors colluded to shape South Africa's broadcasting policy and sector to their advantage," says R2K.

This severely affected "ordinary South Africans' access to affordable and quality public media and telecommunications".

Right2Know Campaign holds public protests at the SABC over the 'extremely intrusive and blatant abuse' of vetting of staffers at South Africa's public broadcaster.

On Thursday (3 May) this week the Right2Know Campaign held public protests at the SABC's building in Durban and in Johannesburg at its Auckland Park headquarters to protest against the public broadcaster's alleged spying on staffers and the extremely intrusive vetting procedures impacting on not just the privacy of staffers but of SABC journalists being able to do their jobs.

The Right2Know Campaign says that "the issue of surveillance concerns at the SABC" is depressing, and that is why the public pressure group that supports freedom of speech, decided to picket against the vetting of staff at the SABC.

"The SABC has requested many of their journalists to submit their ID copies for the vetting process in terms of section 2A (1)(b)(ii) of the National Strategic Intelligence Act. Following resistance and opposition from a number of organisations, the SABC has decided to put the process on hold whilst seeking legal advice," says the R2K Campaign.

"We believe this is extremely intrusive and a blatant abuse of the National Key Points Act, which continues to be applied to SABC buildings."

"Media workers play an important role in keeping those in power in check and should not be treated like potential criminals or spies. This form of surveillance is constitutionally questionable as it violates several rights connected to privacy, media freedom of expression and access to information."

"The need to protect SABC workers against intrusive vetting is also a pressing concern in the debate around the Critical Infrastructure Protection Bill which is proposed to replace the National Key Points Act."

"As R2K we reiterate that free and diverse media is critical to promoting transparency, accountability and the freedom of expression. Media is a public good – a constitutional right that is the key to the realisation and defense of other rights."

The Right2Know Campaign 'deeply concerned' over MultiChoice's dodgy dealings with SABC, ANN7; calls for Public Protector and parliamentary investigations.

The Right2Know Campaign has been weighing in on Naspers' widening scandal that has engulfed its pay-TV arm MultiChoice and its alleged dodgy dealings and contracts with the SABC and the controversial ANN7 channel from the Guptas, calling for urgent investigations by both the Public Protector and parliament.

At issue is whether the media conglom's lucrative pay-TV unit is or was involved in undue pressure to get the controversial Gupta family through their ANN7 channel, and the SABC, to exercise pressure in return for getting their TV news channels carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

Explosive, leaked meeting transcripts between MultiChoice and the South African public broadcaster the SABC, as well as #GuptaLeaks contracts between MultiChoice and the controversial ANN7 D(Stv 405) channel showing massive payments from DStv to the Guptas, have raised multiple serious questions over corporate impropriety.

MultiChoice told the SABC it would pay the broadcaster R100 million for the SABC News channel but but only on the strict must-have contract clause condition that the SABC must support MultiChoice's stance on conditional access (CA) for digital television.

MultiChoice also dramatically upped its payments from R50 million per year to R100 million per year and then R141 million per year, as well as a questionable, additional R25 million payment to the Guptas for the low-rated, bad quality, mistake-filled and often criticised ANN7.

MultiChoice is paying ANN7 more despite its barely there low ratings than eNCA (DStv 403) that has more than 50% of the overall TV news audience share.

It's all created the perception that MultiChoice has paid kickbacks to both the SABC and ANN7 to use its influence to get set-top box (STB) encryption dropped from government-subsidised STBs in the switch to digital terrestrial television (DTT).

MultiChoice and Naspers have denied the kickbacks allegations and the MultiChoice board announced that MultiChoice is starting an internal investigation of itself.

The Right2Know Campaign in a statement says it is "deeply worried by recent media revelations of suspect correspondence between, and dodgy payments from, MultiChoice to SABC and ANN7."

"R2K intends to lodge a complaint with the Public Protector and has written to parliament's communications committee to launch an inquiry."

"It is insinuated that these payments from MultiChoice to the Gupta-linked ANN7 and the SABC were intended as kickbacks to influence government policy on encryption of digital terrestrial television (DTT) signals."

"At the centre of this appears to be Faith Muthambi who then presided over the department of communications, and who is alleged to have pursued MultiChoice’s market dominance agenda in concert with various Gupta associates."

"This would suggest blatant corruption on the part of MultiChoice and Faith Muthambi to advantage themselves in the disastrous roll-out of digital TV, which has seriously undermined the public's right to know."

"If MultiChoice is innocent it should welcome the parliament and the Public Protector's probes," says the Right2Know Campaign.

"It should be noted, though, that this is not the first time there have been revelations of irregularities surrounding digital TV and set-top boxes (STBs)."

"Media reports have also linked Altech UEC and Mxolisi Saady Zuma, the president’s son, to STB procurement bribery."

"The Gupta family has sought to influence government policy on digital TV in order to make money for their various businesses since 2012 when they invited Dina Pule, who was the communications minister then, to their house for canvassing."

"Right2Know notes that the department of communication has to date not released the report of the investigation into alleged STB corruption which was commissioned by the National Treasury and conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers."

"R2K has therefore written to parliament’s communications committee calling for an urgent probe into the dealings between MultiChoice, Faith Muthambi and the Guptas, and also will lodge a complaint with the Office of the Public Protector demanding an urgent probe."

"R2K demands that these probes be initiated immediately with the outcomes being publicised in 3 months".

Public pressure group Right2Know calls on all advertisers to boycott the SABC over unprecedented crisis, calls Hlaudi Motsoeneng 'petty narcissist ruling with absolute impunity'.

The public pressure group Right2Know is calling on all advertisers advertising on the SABC to immediately stop all their ad spend and to start a boycott of the embattled South African public broadcaster, saying the "rampant financial mismanagement" at the SABC must stop.

Right2Know is calling on all advertisers that are advertising on the SABC's TV channels and radio stations to boycott the SABC until the unprecedented crisis has been dealt with.

In a statement Right2Know released on Monday, the organisation calls the controversial SABC boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng "a petty narcissist who continues to rule with absolute impunity".

Right2Know calls the crisis at the SABC unprecedented.

"Rampant financial mismanagement is to blame and can be seen in, among other things,  the massively inflated salary bill for top management and the recent ego-stroking Thank You SABC Concert that turned out to be an enormous and costly flop".

The Right2Known campaign is planning public protests on Wednesday at the SABC's headquarters in Auckland Park, as well as at the offices of big advertisers who continue to advertise on SABC airwaves.

"Under these circumstances, to be advertising with the SABC is to encourage gross mismanagement and unlawfulness," says Right2Know.

"Hlaudi Motsoeneng is where he is simply because he is so eager to lick the boots of his political masters and use the SABC to spin their 'good stories'," says Right2Know.

Right2Know says South Africans deserve a well-funded public broadcaster with the resources to fulfill its mandate, based on accountability and transparency.

Right2Know Campaign: 'Woefully incompetent' Hlaudi Motsoeneng placing SABC at risk of running aground; 'those in charge at SABC no friends of press freedom'.

The Right2Know Campaign says the SABC's "woefully incompetent" Hlaudi Motsoeneng is placing the South African public broadcaster at risk of running aground, criticising the SABC for its low-quality programming and warning that the proposed new Broadcasting Amendment Bill threatens to destroy what is left of the independence of the SABC.

In a statement on World Press Freedom Day, 3 May, the South African civil society group that supports freedom of expression and citizens and the media's access to information cautions that "the recently introduced Broadcasting Amendment Bill threatens to undermine the independence of the SABC, giving the minister of communications greater power over the SABC board".

The Right2Know Campaign slams the SABC's controversial and famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng, saying his "every ham-fisted move" is putting the once proud SABC at risk.

"Those in charge at the SABC have revealed themselves to be no friends of press freedom, with the broadcaster' conceited yet woefully incompetent and scandal prone COO, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, demanding 70% of stories aired to be positive."

"With his every ham-fisted move, our once proud SABC that was a flagship of transformation is more at risk of running aground and reverting to a state mouthpiece."

"Political interference, maladministration and self-censorship have had a crippling effect and have meant that the SABC is increasingly unable to deliver high quality programming and news that reflects a plurality of views, is fair, accurate and independent of government and commercial interests."

The Right2Know Campaign says South Africa's media "needs more diversity" and that "the country's massive inequalities are replicated in media consumption."

"While the middle class have a rich media experience and access to a wide range of local and international media on a variety of ever-improving platforms, those in poor rural parts of the country may have to make do with just a local language SABC radio station at best."

"The migration to digital TV has the potential to transform South Africa's media because many more TV channels available could add to diversity of content and ownership."

"However Icasa (the regulator) wants to give two-thirds (66%) of the channels to the private sector. The SABC has been given a quarter of the channels (25%)."

"The SABC does not have the resources to produce all these extra public interest channels and is likely to run them as profitable partnerships with the private sector. ICASA's proposed privatisation of the airwaves will see only 5% of stations being community non-profit."

"Commercial stations will compete for existing advertising funds. There will be less advertising to go around so we can expect to see many re-runs, old shows and low budget American productions," says the Right2Know Campaign.

SABC's Hlaudi Motsoeneng: It's only big, white-controlled production companies complaining, using black faces to get work.

The SABC's chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng says it is only big, white-controlled production companies that are complaining about programme commissioning changes at the SABC, that they use black faces to get work, and that the SABC isn't going to allow it.

The controversial and famously matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng is currently mired in a protracted court case following the Public Protector's report from February 2014 ordering him to be suspended and finding that he "never should have been appointed at the SABC", as well as the Western Cape High Court which ruled twice that the SABC suspend him and start a disciplinary hearing immediately. He is appealing the decision.

A finger-waving Hlaudi Motsoeneng again took to the stage at The New Age newspaper's latest breakfast briefing in Sandton on Monday morning where he boasted about the public broadcaster's increase in spending on programming and slammed South African production companies who are complaining when he was asked about local content.

"At SABC we have put out RFP [request for proposals] book, which is more than R600 million, moving from R121 million in the first time in the history of the organisation. That money is to make sure we produce local content, especially in different provinces," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"I know there is an issue now about that process where people are unhappy. Some of people, especially from provinces. And reason being because you don't have big production houses in those other different provinces," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

'Controlled by white people'

"What we have been doing at the SABC is, those big production houses they should make sure that they partner with emerging small production houses from different provinces. So that we can give them business," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"If they're not going to partner with those provinces we are not going to be able to do business with them."

"The fact of the matter: This industry called production houses, they have been controlled by white people most of the time. It's those people who are making noise, because now we are making sure that the cake is shared by everyone," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"People making noise are those production houses which are big. And when they are saying they are partnering, you only have people – they are not shareholders – they use their faces. Which we are not going to allow at the SABC – those faces, as black people – using them, not even paying them well," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

'When they march to SABC they're 50'

Hlaudi Motsoeneng also took a swipe at non-profit, civil society organisations like the SOS Coalition, which attended the breakfast briefing, and the Right2Know Campaign (R2K) which in the past organised marched and picketed the SABC.

"We are very aware of these matters, who are these people who are making this big noise, saying they represent the public. Actually when they march to SABC they're 50. Only 50 people, they're not even more than 100," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"Within the organisation we as SABC we want black and white and Indians – the rainbow nation of Nelson Mandela – to produce the content for the SABC, equally so."

"But they should understand that we must prioritise people with disability, we must prioritise those people who are emerging now; now is their time," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

BREAKING. Shocking internet censorship looms for all South African websites, internet publications, blogs - even Facebook postings.

Dangerous internet censorship looms for all South African websites, internet publications, in fact anything published in South Africa from blogs, even Facebook – in a shocking new draft Online Regulation Policy gazetted by the Film and Publications Board (FPB).

Through the proposed regulations, a clampdown on freedom of speech looms for all internet publishers in South Africa and anyone in the country writing a blog or even doing a Facebook posting.

The civil society watchdog organisation, The Right2Know Campaign, in a strongly-worded statement, is now warning South Africa, the media and citizens, and demanding that the FPB scrap the draft Online Regulation Policy document which was gazetted on 4 March.

The watchdog organisations says the FBP must stop the attempt to exercise "pre-publication censorship" of the internet in South Africa.

According to the Right2Know Campaign, the censorship regulations would infrige on the South African public's right to freely get information – as well as to impart information – a right enshrined in the South African Constitution.

"The target of this regulation is not just major distributors, but also individuals," says the Right2Know Campaign. "In terms of the wording of the document, everything published on the internet – including blogs, personal websites and Facebook pages".

Online distribution agreement

According to the document, anyone in South Africa – from individuals to publishers and media organisations – who wish to publish or distribute content will have to first "apply" for a "digital publisher's online distribution agreement" with the Film and Publication Board. 

This will require a subscription fee.

In addition, once paid, the publisher would have to submit the content to the FPB for classification prior to publishing. "This effectively is a specific form of pre-publication censorship, which is not acceptable," says the Right2Know Campaign.

"Moreover, the time spent on the pre-classification of content would undermine one of the most valuable traits of the internet – its immediacy."

"There is also a very real threat that in the future, organisations lacking in resources and unable to afford costly subscription fees, such as community-oriented news outlets and civil society groups, will be severely hampered by the unnecessarily bureaucratic regulations envisioned by the FPB."

"These online media outlets provide a valuable contribution to the diversity of the South African media landscape. The FPB draft regulations will disenable this diversity."

'Classifiers' dispatched to your premises

The Right2Know Campaign says that "worryingly, the regulations would allow the FPB to dispatch classifiers to the distributors' premises for the purposes of classifying digital content."

Furthermore "distributors would have to ensure that the work of classifiers takes place unhindered and without interference."

"The vague wording of the regulations would allow for 'classifiers’ to visit, for example, the homes of citizen journalists and ordinary internet users. Such sweeping powers reek of apartheid-era censorship, whose advocates similarly relied on the guise of moralising arguments," says the Right2Know Campaign.

'Ignorance of how the internet works'

The Right2Know Campaign says the shocking draft regulations "reveals a massive ignorance on the part of the FPB on how the internet actually works."

The Right2Know Campaign says "the FPB has failed to adequately consult with relevant stakeholders before drafting the document."

"Only industry stakeholders were invited to participate behind closed doors, while civil society was excluded from the process despite the fact that the regulations could have profound consequences for ordinary members of the public."

"The Right2Know Campaign condemns this latest attempt to broaden the power of authorities to censor and restrict publishable content — the sort of action characteristic of an increasingly overbearing, paranoid and insecure state."

"The Right2Know Campaign demands that the Film and Publications Board immediately withdraw the draft online regulation policy document."

"The FPB must desist from any attempt to regulate internet content. We already have laws to protect our children, and laws on hate speech. The FPB's draft online regulations smack of unnecessary censorship, are unconstitutional and must be scrapped."

BREAKING. Second public protest at the SABC in a week; protesters call for end to 'rot and irregularities', says SABC is a 'megaphone for ANC'.

With complete censorship at the South African public broadcaster with zero television news coverage in the main news bulletins on the SABC's 3 TV channels and on SABC News on Friday, the SABC failed to report to South African citizens about the second public protest action held today at the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters about the SABC.

Following the public march and protest action of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to the SABC on Tuesday when thousands of people marched to the SABC earlier this week, today saw the Independent Producers' Organisation (IPO), Numsa (National Union of Metal Workers) trade union, the Right2Know campaign, the Support Public Broadcasting Coalition (SOS Coalition), the Voices of the Poor of Concerned Residents of South Africa, the Democratic Left Front and members of the public picket the SABC at the broadcaster's doorstep.

Protesters held up placards and banners saying things like "SABC murders local content", "SABC squanders, while film makers suffer", "The SABC is for public, not party broadcaster", "SABC for all, not political party", "Politicians' hands OFF the SABC", "Media for the Public and NOT for Profit", "Save the SABC, fire Hlaudi" and "SABC, where are the documentaries?"

The SABC and its news division had no coverage of it. The SABC's flagship evening news bulletin on SABC3 on Friday made no reference to what happened in front of the SABC today.

It's shocking given that the SABC is supposed to report on any news that involves the SABC itself, irrespective of how small or big - if it involves the SABC.

A public protest at the SABC against the SABC should be covered and be reported by the SABC - it falls squarely and legitimately in the public interest.

The Right2Know campaign, a civil society public pressure group with no political affiliation, organised today's public protest action and co-ordinated the picketing action with the various organisations.

The Right2Know organisation called for "an end to the rot and irregularities at the SABC", with Numsa saying that "the SABC is turning into the state broadcasting megaphone for Luthuli House" [ANC headquarters].

"Our public broadcaster, the SABC, is increasingly becoming the mouthpiece of the state and ruling party; willfully underplaying the state's illegitimate use of violence against the people of this country, censoring programming that asks why our public representatives have failed us and willfully misinterpreting its editorial policies and regulations to silence opposition parties and the public from airing their grievances and opinions," says Right2Know.

"We are raising concerns about threats to freedom of speech," said Dale McKinley of Right2Know.

"We want a free public broadcaster," said Sekoetlane Phamodi, SOS Coalition coordinator.

"There is a rot in the SABC and acting chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng must go," said Dinga Sikwebu, Numsa coordinator.