Fired eNCA Reporter Heidi Giokos Resurfaces at SABC News as Weekend The Fullview Presenter

by Thinus Ferreira

After Heidi Giokos was fired by eNCA (DStv 403), the reporter is resurfacing at SABC News (DStv 404), where she will now be a presenter of the weekend edition of The Fullview.

eMedia's eNCA dismissed Heidi Giokos in July after she appeared in a cars.co.za commercial opposite Carl da Coza, in which she appeared as a TV reporter. Heidi Giokos joined eNCA in 2017.

According to insiders, Heidi Giokos allegedly failed to get proper permission and approval to appear in the cars.co.za commercial.

Heidi Giokos is the younger sister of CNN anchor and reporter Eleni Giokos.

Deidre Uren, SABC News boss, in a statement, says "We are delighted to welcome Heidi Giokos to the SABC family".

"Her extensive experience, professionalism and commitment to impactful storytelling align strongly with our mandate of informing, educating and empowering South Africans. We look forward to the contribution she will make across our news platforms."

The public broadcaster says it "looks forward to her continued contribution to South African journalism and public broadcasting".

After SABC News journalist that was fired claims insider political plot, SABC sends cease-and-desist demand over 'claims without merit'

by Thinus Ferreira

After the SABC fired SABC News senior political journalist Tshepo Ikaneng for allegedly being drunk, the South African public broadcaster has now demanded he stop defaming the SABC "over claims without merit".

Tshepo Ikaneng, on social media, claimed that he was fired after he threatened to expose corruption and nepotism.

Tshepo Ikaneng alleged that Deidre Uren, SABC News boss, was apparently colluding with William Baloyi, the head of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) to get their "puppet" into a position at SABC News special projects as part of a political plot to undermine the ANC, MKP and EFF political parties in favour of the DA political party before 2026's local government elections.

Reesha Kasipershad-Pillay, SABC legal advisor, has sent Tshepo Ikaneng a cease-and-desist letter, demanding that he remove all of the allegedly defamatory statements in his posts from his social media.

Reesha Kasipershad-Pillay instructed Tshepo Ikaneng to confirm that the statements have been removed, that he confirm in writing that he won't make any further false and defamatory remarks about the SABC or SABC staffers, as well as a written retraction and apology to the South African public broadcaster.

The SABC, in a statement, says "We take any allegation made against the organisation or our employees seriously, and we follow established internal processes to evaluate and address such matters thoroughly and fairly".

"In this case, as with all matters brought to our attention, the allegations are subjected to the appropriate internal procedures. These claims without merit are being perpetuated by Tshepo Ikaneng whose employment was recently terminated after a properly constituted disciplinary process."

"The SABC stands firmly with the employees who are being targeted by these unfounded claims. The SABC has robust governance, editorial and operational frameworks in place to ensure the continued credibility and professionalism of SABC News."

"Given the seriousness and the public impact of the false statements being circulated, the SABC has taken the necessary legal steps."

The broadcaster confirms that "A formal cease-and-desist demand has been issued to Tshepo Ikaneng, requiring him to remove the defamatory content and refrain from making any further false assertions."

Tshepo Ikaneng has also declared a dispute at the CCMA through his union.

The SABC says it will "engage fully in that process".

SABC removes SABC News anchor Juliet Newell after asking Dr Mamphela Ramphele why she's equating Israel-Gaza conflict to the Holocaust

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African public broadcaster has removed SABC News anchor Juliet Newell from the air and unscheduled her after an interview and testy on-air exchange about the Israel-Gaza conflict with Dr Mamphela Ramphele.

Juliet Newell asked Ramphele "how does your statement likening the famine in Gaza, to the Holocaust - do you not see that as provocative?"

Ramphele responded by saying "What provocative? It is a Holocaust. Why can't I compare them?"

"The Holocaust happened, and it will continue to happen in different forms for as long as we make criticising this kind of behaviour a holy cow. It is a Holocaust by any definition if you look at the deliberate attack on children, on women, on unarmed citizens, and using starvation as a weapon of war. Tell me what that is?"

The SABC says in a statement "SABC News management took immediate action in line with the SABC's internal processes, and the presenter in question is currently not scheduled".

"The SABC editorial policies are aimed at building trust with the public and in ensuring that our content, in all its formats, continues to resonate with the prescripts of our public mandate, and more so in providing universal access to credible content."

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) in a statement says "As a publicly funded institution, SABC has a duty to report with integrity, accuracy, and balance".

"As a publicly funded institution, SABC has a duty to report with integrity, accuracy, and balance. We call on SABC to accurately describe the situation in Gaza as genocide, provide full coverage of South Africa's ICJ case against Israel, and stop adopting the framing or talking points of foreign governments at the expense of truth."

With 'trial and error' SABC moves Afrikaans news again - now to 5:30pm on SABC3 on weekdays and 7:30pm on weekends

by Thinus Ferreira

The SABC now admits that its shortsighted scheduling moves with its Afrikaans TV news bulletin were done without any market research, with the public broadcasters moving it yet again from this month: Now to 17:30 on weekdays and from SABC2 to SABC3, and to 19:30 over weekends on SABC3.

The constant timeslot shifts and channel changes of the SABC's Afrikaans TV news already cost the broadcaster millions of rand in lost advertising income as well as the loss of hundreds of thousands of viewers.

The Afrikaans TV news was suddenly and inexplicably moved in March 2024 from SABC2 to SABC3 and the much later 20:30 timeslot where it lost further viewers on the SABC's terrestrial TV channel with the smallest transmitter reach.

During the week the SABC's Afrikaans TV news bulletin has around 290 000 viewers on SABC2, and over weekends 550 000 on SABC3. 

Now the SABC is once again moving it from July to 17:30 on weekdays and away from SABC2 to SABC3.

The news bulletins of language groupings with fewer viewers are currently broadcast at 17:30, like the Siswati and Ndebele bulletins on SABC1, and the Venda and Tsonga bulletins on SABC2.

The two Afrikaans weekend TV news bulletins, which was at 18:15 on Saturdays and Sundays on SABC3 are moving to 19:30 from this first weekend in July 2025.

The SABC is further planning to make these two bulletins 30 minutes in duration again, back to the length it used to be.

There's been no explanation as to why the SABC is moving the weekday Afrikaans TV news bulletins from SABC2 to SABC3, which the broadcaster says targets a "millennial audience".

Daniëlle Wass, bulletin editor of the SABC's Afrikaans TV news, told the SABC's RSG radio station that no market research was done before the SABC moved the Afrikaans TV news to SABC3 and the late 20:30 timeslot.

"Even my dad said to me 'I'm sorry, I know it's your bulletin, but I can't [watch it]".

According to Daniëlle Wass, the new 17:30 timeslot for Afrikaans TV news "is also an inconvenient time for a lot of people - a lot of them are still on the road". She also called the new weekend timeslot of 19:30 "a bit uncomfortable".

"Over the past while there wasn't much market research done about news bulletins," she said. "It was an expensive trial and error to see the bulletins so up and down where it fits," she said.

"Perhaps we should have looked at this more. Perhaps we should have gone about it more carefully. I think the lack of research failed us in being able to know who our viewers are, what our viewers want and what they are comfortable with."

Nomsa Chabeli, SABC CEO, called the scrapping of the Afrikaans TV news over weekends during the first weekend of April a "scheduling error". Insiders said Nomsa Chabeli was however aware that the plan was to remove the Afrikaans TV news over weekends permanently.

Mmoni Ngubane, SABC spokesperson, didn't respond to a media query about the SABC's latest timeslot moves and TV channel move of the Afrikaans TV news bulletin.

Dr. Elsabe Pepler, communication specialist and media expert in Cape Town, says the SABC's decision to move the Afrikaans TV news to 17:30 "is simply daft".

"Thousands of people are still in traffic, moms and dads are busy looking after kids and meals."

She explains sponsors and advertisers must get something back for their expensive commercial investment in TV ads - "they want new customers".

"If a company or organisation realises that viewership ratings are going down in the timeslot during which the news is broadcast, it becomes a less attractive and profitable timeslot. The broadcast times of news on SABC3 at 17:30 is definitely not one of the most profitable timeslots."

She says, "the result of this scheduling decision will likely be that news viewership will fall further, that advertisers won't get the exposure they seek and that the SABC's revenue from advertisements during the news will drop further".

Dr. Mardi Delport, senior lecturer in communication science at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein, says people watch the news in the evening and that's where it should be shown.

"The 18:00 to 19:00 timeslots will always remain the most popular options and golden standard for TV news since the largest potential audience is lured to watch TV then when people arrive home from work and prepare dinner. We then actively seek out information about our day and our community."

She says the move of the Afrikaans TV news to 17:30 on weekdays is "a step in the right direction but still not perfect. Viewers prefer stability regarding the content offering and timeslots".

SABC News TV channel adjusts schedule with serial channel hopper Thembekile Mrototo co-anchoring The Full View prime time

by Thinus Ferreira

The SABC News (DStv 404) TV news channel adjusted its schedule from 1 April 2025 with channel hopper anchor Thembekile Mrototo now once again back at the public broadcaster to co-anchor The Full View prime-time block between 18:00 and 21:00.

On 1 April, and asked again after that, the SABC was asked in a media query about the SABC News changes for information about the channel's line-up changes. No information on anything from SABC News as a TV channel was forthcoming a week later when this report was published.

On Sundays, Thulasizwe Simelane anchors The Week Ahead on SABC News between 12:00 and 15:00. He is also the face of Week in Review on Saturdays between 12:00 and 15:00.

Morning Live, simulcast on SABC2 and SABC News, remains on weekdays between 6:00 and 9:00, co-anchored by Leanne Manas and Sakina Kamwendo.

Ayanda Nyathi anchors The Agenda block between 9:00 and 12:00 on weekdays.

After the implosion of Paula Slier and Trevor Bester's Newshound company that did the short-lived News1 streaming channel for Sentech's Freevision Play and had plans to also do a Brics Global TV News (BGTN), Juliet Newell who was an anchor there, is now on SABC News anchoring On Point on weekdays between 12:00 and 15:00.

Unathi Batyashe anchors the SA Today block on SABC News between 15:00 and 18:00.

The Full View block between 18:00 and 19:00 is now co-anchored by Bongiwe Zwane and the serial channel hopper Thembekile Mrototo who keeps revolving, leaving and returning between eNCA (DStv 403), SABC News, Newzroom Afrika (DStv 405) and who is now once again back at SABC News for another stint.

Clement Manyathela anchors Face the Nation on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 20:00 and 21:00.

Mfundo Mabalane and Mpho Sithole are the co-anchors of The Late Edition block on weekdays on SABC News between 21:00 and 23:00.

The SABC3 English TV news bulletin, Prime News at 20:00, is suddenly co-anchored by Becky Motumo and Paulette Kaise. There's been no information to the media about this from the SABC or SABC3.

SABC's weekend Afrikaans TV news bulletins on SABC2 abruptly disappears without warning over the first weekend of April 2025

by Thinus Ferreira

The Afrikaans TV news bulletins disappeared this past weekend from the SABC, without any prior warning or explanation, with no Afrikaans TV news bulletin on Saturday 5 April, nor Sunday 6 April, on SABC2 at 18:15, or any other SABC TV channel at any other time.

There was no warning before the weekend started from the SABC or to viewers that there won't be any Afrikaans TV news bulletins on Saturday or Sunday.

On the evening of Friday 4 April, SABC2 Afrikaans TV news reader Willem Pelser at the end of the SABC Nuus broadcast only said "enjoy the weekend". 

The previous Friday Willem Pelser at the end of that Friday's broadcast still said "we greet you until tomorrow evening", meaning Saturday.  

A year ago, the SABC removed the Afrikaans TV news bulletins from SABC2 and decided to place these on SABC3 during the week and in the late timeslot of 20:30, and on weekends on SABC2 at 18:15 - a move that was highly criticised by viewers.

The 5 and 6 April weekend marks the first weekend of the month, and April was also the start of the South African public broadcaster's new financial year.

On social media a SABC viewer like Beatrix on Saturday asked: "SABC2, Why is there no Afrikaans news tonight? I'm not paying my TV licence again!! #SABC2fail ".

It's as yet unclear whether the Afrikaans TV news bulletins SABC Nuus on SABC2 over a weekend have been cancelled permanently from April, whether it's absence is a once-off, or what the reason for its sudden and unexplained absence is. 

When the SABC provides an explanation, it will be added here.

UPDATE Tuesday 8 April 2025 12:15pm: The SABC has just issued a press statement:

"The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) wishes to address concerns arising from the non-broadcast of the Afrikaans television news bulletin this past weekend. We acknowledge that the bulletin did not air in its regular time slot on Saturday and Sunday, and we confirm that this was a scheduling error. This should not have happened."

"As management, we are treating this matter with the seriousness it deserves, and consequence management processes are currently underway to address the internal oversight that led to this unfortunate incident."

"We want to assure the public and our stakeholders that there is no plan or decision to discontinue or deprioritise Afrikaans news."

"The Afrikaans television news bulletin continues to air as scheduled from Monday to Friday, and the weekend bulletin will also continue in its regular time slot going forward."

"Afrikaans remains an important part of our public broadcasting mandate, just as all South African languages are. The SABC is committed to providing equitable access to news and information in all official languages."

"The SABC is actively working on a broader content and scheduling strategy aimed at strengthening our language offering, including Afrikaans. This process is part of our new financial year’s content strategy and will be communicated more fully in due course."

"We acknowledge the deep concern this weekend’s error has caused, particularly within Afrikaans-speaking communities. We extend our sincere and heartfelt apology to the South African public, and especially to those who felt aggrieved by this disruption."

"In closing, we reiterate: Afrikaans news has not been discontinued. Afrikaans News currently broadcasts at 20:30 Mondays - Fridays on S3. Weekend Afrikaans bulletins will continue in their current time slot, 18:00 on Saturdays and Sundays on SABC 2. The SABC remains committed to all languages as part of its constitutional and public service mandate."

"We appreciate the continued engagement from the public, civil society organisations, and political parties, and we remain open to further dialogue in the spirit of transparency and inclusivity."

SABC News staffers in Free State and Northern Cape furious over news editor's alleged corruption and girlfriend nepotism

by Thinus Ferreira

SABC News staffers in the Free State and Northern Cape provinces are furious over what they describe, in a grievance letter, as the alleged corruption, favouritism and nepotism of regional news editor Mangaliso Radebe.

The staffers emailed a grievance letter to SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli on 11 December 2024, detailing their shocking complaints and allegations, including how Mangaliso Radebe had allegedly been victimizing and intimidating workers.

The staffers note that they made use of the SABC's anonymous corruption line but that no follow-up happened, and that they also informed Moshoeshoe Monare, the former SABC News boss of the case but that he also allegedly did nothing about the matter. 

Moshoeshoe Monare left the SABC in December 2024.  

In the letter, SABC News staff also claim that Mangaliso Radebe had employed a girlfriend as his personal assistant, although she got a bad score during a job interview.

"When this post was advertised and people were shortlisted, Ms M did not make the cut as one of the interview candidates. Mangaliso opposed the list and insisted that M be included as a person from Northern Cape and she was included in the second candidate list. She performed the worst of all candidates during interviews".

The woman apparently didn't know anything about the SABC's operational procedures or systems but was employed over candidates who do and who faced retrenchment.

Mangaliso Radebe allegedly also used his SABC laptop so that the woman could prepare for the job interview in the SABC's regional office in Kimberley.

"One guy in the SABC in Northern Cape was ordered to make sure that the connection during interviews does not fail. The above allegations can be proven easily through getting interview records on matrix since the interviews were done online, as to how each candidate was scored," the staffers write in their letter.

Mangaliso Radebe is now apparently exiting the SABC in June.

"Most avenues within the SABC as an organisation cannot be trusted. We are coming to you as a last resort. We trust that you will consider this as a matter of urgency and assist," the staffers told Nomsa Chabeli.

Mmoni Ngubane, SABC spokesperson, told TVwithThinus in response to a media query, "The SABC would like to categorically state that there are no issues pertaining to human resources that are swept under the carpet as alleged".

"The SABC is guided by its human resources policies and prescripts to address any concerning matters. As a matter of principle, the SABC is under no obligation to discuss any matter relating to an employer-employee relationship with the media."

"There are duly constituted forums and committees for the SABC to discuss human-resources related matters."

The SABC didn't respond to the question of whether Mangaliso Radebe is leaving the SABC in June.

ANALYSIS. Bon Appétit! How the French will own your DStv news

by Thinus Ferreira

As more details come to light of Canal+'s aggressive buyout of MultiChoice, one of the inconvenient truths is that South African TV news channels like SABC News, eNCA and Newzroom Afrika will effectively belong to, and be paid for, by a French company.

That ka-ching, ka-ching sounds you're not hearing - since it's electronic payments and not for us, the bourgeoisie, to be either privy to or to be perturbed by - is the payment of millions of rand to sets of lawyers and financial advisors in offices in North America, Europe and South Africa to get Canal+ to the finish line of gobbling up MultiChoice.

The intent of South Africa's string of regulations and Electronic Communications Act (non-existent in other African countries) is to prohibit a place outside of South Africa - like a foreign company - from owning or controlling a local media company like the traditional satellite pay-TV operator MultiChoice.

Forget the legalese of a planned deal. 

In practical terms, that's exactly what will happen if the aggressive buyout of The MultiChoice Group by France's Canal+ goes through, which will effectively give Randburg City a Parisian flair.

The lawyers' plan is for Canal+ to carve out the problem child part - MultiChoice South Africa (holder of that pesky poisoned chalice called a South African satellite pay-TV broadcast licence) - and to spin it out as an "independent" company for now called "Licence Co".

Sprinkle with some required BEE and work the scales to get the shareholding in terms of voting rights to exactly 20% - precisely what the regulators demand - and voilà!: DStv dressed with homegrown African flair displaying the season's latest new French colonial style.

If you've ever watched L.A. Law, Suits or Succession, you'll know that there are rules and laws for everyone. 

Then there are those who want to build on the Liesbeek floodplain, a megamansion closer to the sea, or try to keep tarnished student accommodation open or build a pipeline called Keystone. Where there's a will, there's always a quarrel of lawyers standing by to make it happen for you - at a price.

Important questions remain that neither Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada or MultiChoice Group CEO Calvo Mawela have yet answered.

One of these is the inconvenient truth - to borrow a phrase from Al Gore - about how, after a Canal+ takeover of MultiChoice, the totality of South African pay-TV news will effectively be paid for by a French private company.

It is MultiChoice that annually pays millions of rand for and is responsible for the creation and ongoing existence of the South African public broadcaster's SABC News (DStv 404) TV channel, eMedia's eNCA (DStv 403), as well as Newzroom Afrika.

The SABC News TV channel literally exists solely because of the money that MultiChoice pays to the public broadcaster for its operational expenditure. 

Without the MultiChoice money - already a media ethics debate if you want to get into it since MultiChoice is a private South African company paying a public broadcaster to specifically do a news service - there will only be SABC News as a SABC division with  TV and radio bulletins. 

Without MultiChoice moola there won't be enough money for SABC News as a separate linear TV news channel running 24 hours a day.

It will turn 17 years old this year and started out as the eNews Channel and MultiChoice is also paying eMedia to make and run eNCA for DStv exclusively. 

The same goes for Thokozani Nkosi and Thabile Ngwato's 5-year old Newzroom Afrika, specifically and exclusively commissioned and paid for by MultiChoice for the DStv platform.

Remember the "Gupta-television" ANN7 that was later rebranded as Afro Worldview? 

When MultiChoice decided in 2018 it was over for the channel on DStv, Afro Worldview couldn't and didn't live on because it's the MultiChoice money - what we call a "channel carriage agreement" fee - that funds the expensive operations of running these linear TV news channels.

While MultiChoice doesn't interfere in the editorial content of these TV news channels - and insiders whisper that they've already been given lip-service that new owner-to-be Canal+ won't interfere editorially in news decisions and coverage -  the inconvenient truth remains that every news media worker is mindful of who their media owner is.

What would the French make if they were suddenly told that MultiChoice would now own and be paying for French TV news channels like France24, Canal+'s CNews, or TF1's LCI (La Chaîne Info)?

Besides South Africa, MultiChoice also pays channel carriage fees for the existence on DStv, of localised TV news channels in other African countries. 

Will the TV news channels on MultiChoice's DStv in South Africa and other African countries - when paid and funded by Canal+ - remain as they are? 

Will they self-censor to align with a new media owner? Will Canal+ simply remove TV channels like it had done in West Africa to appease governments like in Guinea in 2023?

With their liberté, egalité and fraternité the French would never be fine with majority foreign ownership of their TV news.

So why is South Africa in the Canal+ news coup as part of Canal+'s corporate takeover of MultiChoice simply saying c'est la vie?

ALSO READ: In its aggressive takeover bid Canal+ will carve and spin out MultiChoice's broadcast licence in South Africa and DStv subscibers as 'Licence Co' as MultiChoice Group keeps video assets

Moshoeshoe Monare exits as SABC News boss after two and a half years

by Thinus Ferreira

Moshoeshoe Monare will exit as SABC News boss at the end of this month after two and a half years of heading up the South African public broadcaster's news and current affairs division.

It's not clear who is replacing him or will be acting SABC News boss until a new permanent appointment.

Moshoeshoe Monare was appointed in June 2022.

Nomsa Chabeli, SABC CEO, in a statement says "Moshoeshoe Monare has been an invaluable asset to our newsroom".

"His dedication, expertise, and unwavering commitment to journalistic excellence have set a high standard for us all. Under his leadership, our newsroom has consistently delivered ground-breaking stories that have informed, educated and inspired our audiences."

"The SABC acknowledges Moshoeshoe Monare's invaluable contributions and extends its gratitude for his dedicated service. We wish him success in all his future endeavours."

Former SABC News Sepedi news reader Willie Matlawa dead at 67 after long illness

by Thinus Ferreira

The former SABC News Sepedi news reader Willie Matlawa has died after a long illness. He was 67.

Willie Matlawa retired in 2023 from the SABC after four decades.

The South African public broadcaster said "The SABC is deeply saddened by the passing of William 'Bra Willie' Matlawa. His immense contribution to the entertainment industry will forever be remembered. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Matlawa family, friends and family".

SABC News journalists in disciplinary action after viewers hear their shocking hot mic comments during Pravin Gordhan funeral

Thinus Ferreira

Two SABC News journalists are facing disciplinary action after damaging the South African public broadcaster's credibility and causing massive embarrassment for their crass and shocking comments during the live funeral broadcast of former South African minister Pravin Gordhan while they were unaware that their microphones were on and that viewers could hear everything.

The identities of the two female journalists are not yet known.

Shocked SABC News (DStv 404) viewers got an earful and forced the SABC to apologise to Pravin Gordhan's family for the crass, shocking and extremely insensitive comments SABC News journalists made when they thought they were off the air during his category 2 funeral service.

During the live broadcast of six hours, the two women repeatedly made vulgar and nasty comments while visuals of Pravin Gordhan's coffin were shown, while draped in turn with the ANC flag, and later the South African flag. 

They also made nasty comments while government officials and other dignitaries, his daughters and family members spoke on stage at the Durban International Conference Centre.

With the funeral procession following the funeral service and with the South African flag on the coffin underway to the crematorium, more disgusting comments were made. 

Viewers heard how the journalists laughed and rhetorically asked who Pravin Gordhan thought he was to deserve these flags on his coffin. 

With duration to the length of the funeral proceedings, they said he wouldn't be collected by the ancestors because they got tired and that his soul would just become a ghost. 

They also branded Pravin Gordhan a white capitalist. 

Neither the journalists nor the SABC's technical team realised that their microphones remained switched on while they should have been muted and that they remained on in what the industry calls "hot mics", while viewers heard everything.

So bad was the SABC's coverage flub that the SABC was forced to censor its own recording of its funeral coverage broadcast.

In the SABC's censored recording there are sections where the sound has been completely removed, sections that have been completely cut, as well as sections where the visual and soundtrack are both replaced by a title card showing a photo of Pravin Gordhan. It happens throughout the broadcast. 

On YouTube, the SABC has censored the funeral broadcast's live chat replay function and completely deleted it.

In this chat box, while the funeral was watched live, or watched as a recording, real-time comments from viewers appeared on 20 September where they warned and told the SABC about what it was doing, asked what was going on and why nobody was stopping the fiasco.

Moshoeshoe Monare, SABC News boss, has since been forced to "sincerely apologise" to the family and friends of Pravin Gordhan "after two of our journalists were heard making the most insensitive and unprofessional remarks during the live funeral service coverage".

"Even though the journalists were unaware that their mic was open, their conduct and comments were inexcusable. Their remarks do not represent the values, views and editorial policy of SABC News," Moshoeshoe Monare said.

Mmoni Seapolelo, SABC media manager, said "The SABC is aware of the incident and would like to place it on record that it condemns the actions of the journalists concerned".

"This incident is regrettable as the SABC always encourages all its employees to deliver their work in a diligent and professional manner in line with its values of respect, trust, integrity and quality. This matter is being addressed internally and the SABC has also apologised publicly and to the Gordhan family."

The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) told TVwithThinus that by Saturday it hadn't received any complaints from viewers. Viewers however indicated that they have complained directly with the SABC.

SABC hunts ghost workers using selfies

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African public broadcaster's SABC News division is on the hunt for further ghost workers and is rooting out non-existent workers through a verification process using selfies.

Insiders told me that the SABC has embarked on another ghost worker eradication process that started yesterday and will last a week with all workers in Gauteng who have to present themselves in person and those elsewhere who have to appear on a video call and also hold up a photo of themselves.

Mmoni Seapolelo, SABC manager for media relations, confirmed the broadcaster's latest ghost worker hunt in its news division and told me in response to a media query "The SABC can confirm that an audit of the verification process for independent contractors within the news and current affairs division has commenced".

"This is a standard procedure conducted by SABC's group internal audit, based on the results of their risk assessment processes".

According to SABC insiders, the process started on 19 September and will continue for a week until 26 September.

SABC freelancers were told that all independent contractors in Gauteng must "present themselves" physically to the broadcaster's internal audit office on the 11th floor of the Radio Park building in Auckland Park, while those not living and working within Gauteng will be verified through a video call on Microsoft Teams.

In addition, workers must submit proof of identity like a South African ID smart card, a bank account confirmation letter not older than two months, and even hold up a clear photo holding proof of identity when this verification is done through the Microsoft Teams video call.

The salary bill of the bloated SABC is the public broadcaster's single biggest expense with the broadcaster that this week in parliament again asked the government for additional state funding, as well as for an overhaul of its outdated SABC TV Licence system which less than 13% of South African TV households on its database still bother to pay annually.

SABC moves Afrikaans TV news on weekends back to SABC2 without any explanation 6 months after shunting it to SABC3.

by Thinus Ferreira

Over the weekend the SABC's Afrikaans TV news bulletin which was moved from SABC2 to SABC3 six months ago in March was suddenly back on SABC2 without any explanation.

The Afrikaans TV news bulletin which had lost hundreds of thousands of viewers on weekdays when it was moved from SABC2 to SABC3, was back and broadcast on SABC2 at 18:15 on Saturday and Sunday, without any explanation to viewers.

On Saturday evening the SABC's Afrikaans TV news bulletin was replaced by British football on SABC3. On Sunday the SABC decided to replace the Afrikaans TV news bulletin on SABC3 with the BBC documentary natural history series Serengeti.

During the week the Afrikaans TV news remains on SABC3 in its late night timeslot of 20:30 where it barely has any viewers.

It's unclear why the SABC moved the Afrikaans TV news bulletin this past weekend back to SABC2, while the weeknight bulletins remain on SABC3.

This TV news bulletin move six months ago was part of the South African public broadcaster's decision to remove Afrikaans content from SABC2 and shift it to SABC3, since Afrikaans no longer fits with SABC2's latest programming and content strategy.

Mmoni Seapolelo, SABC spokesperson, didn't provide answers in response to media queries about this past weekend's TV news bulletin shift from SABC3 back to SABC2, which were made since last week Monday.

An advertising executive - who decides on behalf of companies who advertise across various media, including on the SABC, and decides on which channels and what budgets to allocate to TV sports - told TVwithThinus the broadcaster's "creates schizophrenia" with the shifting of shows.

"Viewers become confused and are uncertain of where what is shown."

"Advertisers don't have trust and don't want to book spot packages in advance on a TV channel for specific timeslots, if their TVC is then shown within something else and during different content that is suddenly shown instead of the content that was promised."

The SABC which is technically insolvent will once again have a massive financial loss for its 2023/2024 financial year.

Khathu Ramukumba, SABC chairperson, told SABC News on Friday that the broadcaster "is not where we are supposed to be and not where we want to be but we are glad about the progress that we have made".

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South Africa's bloated SABC hunts ghost workers in broadcaster's SABC News division as implicated manager resigns.

by Thinus Ferreira

At least one implicated manager is already gone with others involved in disciplinary processes after the South African public broadcaster started hunting ghost workers in its SABC News division.

The bloated broadcaster that made a R1.1 billion loss in its latest reported financial year, in 2024 will once again be confronted with possible retrenchments to downsize its personnel corps similar to the ailing South African Post Office which will let go of 6 000 workers next year as part of its business rescue process.

Meanwhile, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) which has declared another wage dispute with the SABC, has already threatened that it will jeopardise the broadcaster in 2024 during what is South Africa's next general election year.

Nathen Bowers, CWU national bargaining co-ordinator, threatened that the union will "roll out a programme of action in the second week of January 2024" and "if the SABC doesn't accede to workers' demands, then we are going to put the general election in jeopardy".

The SABC has been busy rooting out ghost workers, with Moshoeshoe Monare, SABC News boss, who had started an investigation into bogus workers bleeding the broadcaster dry.

The SABC in a statement says it can "confirm that the SABC group executive for news and current affairs, Moshoeshoe Monare has launched an extensive investigation into freelance contracts that turned out to be irregular, corrupt and fraudulent".

According to the SABC, "one of the managers under investigation tendered a resignation with immediate effect, while other staff members are facing disciplinary processes".

The broadcaster says "the matter is addressed within the SABC's human resources policies and will also be referred to the other relevant authorities for further investigation".