South Africa’s communications minister Solly Malatsi has intervened in the increasingly bitter row between South African public broadcaster SABC and the nation’s broadcasting transmission company, Sentech.

SABC is objecting to the fees Sentech is levying to carry the broadcaster’s signals across the country.

In his statement, Malatsi claimed that 3 million South Africans were “at risk of being cut off from news and entertainment” if Sentech, owned by the state, had gone ahead with its plan to switch off transmitters due to non-payment by the SABC.

SABC’s position is that Sentech’s fees are much too high and that Sentech employs monopoly pricing. The minister has ordered a 2-month pause in Sentech’s threats to switch off transmissions while options to resolve the problem are examined.

“While the SABC has been making steady progress towards improving its financial standing, the fact is that it has not been able to fully pay Sentech for services rendered. At the same time, Sentech is at risk of running out of cash due to the non-payment, a risk that may even affect other broadcasters,” Malatsi said.

“As we grapple with the complexities of developing a long-term funding model for the SABC, the public broadcaster also has a responsibility to raise revenue to maintain its operational costs,” the minister added.

Malatsi also commented that for two state-owned enterprises, and for which his department was responsible, being involved in litigation is not in the best interest of anyone.

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Tags: SABC, south africa