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The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) was heartbroken when the ANN7 and Afro World View were closed down, our main concern was only about the workers who have devoted their lives to journalism and democracy, what happened to them? The PAC is less interested with the owners/oppressors because we at all times identify with the oppressed.
 
The SABC's decision to terminate employment contacts of over 900 workers is not only disappointing but frustrating. It is clear that the current board have not really done their job to ensure that they sustain and maintain the public-broadcaster. They are not as competent as one would have thought, they cannot even think or device a creative solution to their crises rather than bowing to the national treasury.
 
The SABC behaves like a "spoilt brat", they are quite sure that the national treasury will come to their rescue because it has created a precedence in the past. Injecting money into the State-Owned-Enterprises (SOEs) are not sustainable and its costly for the taxpayers to give money to reckless people.
 
The PAC is advising the SABC board to go back to revising and reviewing wages or salaries of the executives. How can a sober organisation decides to pay three individuals money amounting to R12 Million yet claims that there is no money? It is pure insanity, madness.
 
The PAC wishes to see the SABC broadening its reach not only to African states but to the entire world so that we can also influence the world like what the BBC has been doing throughout decades. It is clear that we are not going to grow and expand the public broadcaster under this leadership (Board).
 
If they are opting for retrenchments now, then it means that in few months few radio or TV stations will be closed because there would be no money for paying salaries.
 
The people are not deliberately paying their TV licences because of the content which the SABC is giving them. The mandate of the SABC should be to teach, entertain or inform. The mandate is not to encourage crime by trying to compete with privately owned broadcasters. The people want to pay excellence and we have not seen one. The South Africans can fund their own SABC if they are allowed to be part of it and not behave like a state-broadcaster of some authoritarian state.
 
SABC have a public mandate, that is to provide information, entertainment and education to the public. The paying of the salary may be second objective after that one. It is so amazing that even community radio or TV stations are able to pay their volunteers a stipend to keep them happy while the SABC behaves like a "drug addict".
 
SABC should revise its funding model, surely it cannot expect government to keep on throwing money to Auckland Park, that is irresponsible and must stop. The SABC still enjoys a greater audience in the country but they are relaxed because they know that the government will come to their rescue, those times are gone.
 
PAC should also highlight the political interference into the running or governance of the SABC, the minister should not be given excessive powers especially in the running of the broadcaster. Are we saying that the privately owned eNCA of PRIMEDIA are led by intelligent people than the one found in Auckland Park?
 

Issued by The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania