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The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) must explain how it is that the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) may now not be screened in South Africa.

According to this morning's Mail & Guardian, doubts are being cast over whether the tournament will be screened by SABC as a result of a contractual dispute between the SABC and Sports Five, the marketing company that sells the rights for Confederation of African Football (CAF) events. This dispute is apparently threatening to black out South African television coverage of the tournament, due to kick off on Sunday. Apparently the SABC has failed to make good on part of a R1-billion contract which resulted in Sports Five having to take legal action.

In this, our World Cup year, it would be a great pity if television licence payers are being let down once again by the SABC, and are unable to watch Africa's premier soccer tournament - something that, through their licence fees, they can legitimately claim to have paid for. With the prospect of pay channel SuperSport only televising AFCON matches in other parts of Africa, and not South Africa, the SABC's failure to resolve this contractual issue would mean that the disastrous mismanagement of the state broadcaster, under the ANC, will once again have unnecessary ramifications for ordinary South Africans.

In addition to all of this, the Mail & Guardian is reporting that Standard Bank is threatening to sue the SABC in order to recover some of it the multi-million rand sponsorship of the tournament. Should they be successful, yet further public funds will be frittered away as a consequence of the incompetence of the state broadcaster.

It is mistakes like this that explain why more than R2.2-billion has been spent on direct transfers, loans, subsidies and other grants to prop up the SABC over the last four years.

I will be attempting to speak to the current management of the SABC later today to gain further clarity on the matter.