ZCZC
BCN-30
SAFRICA-ECONOMY-MEDIA-SABC
S.Africa public broadcaster says no wages by March
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 14, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – South Africa’s cash-strapped public
broadcaster on Tuesday warned it would be unable to pay its workers by March
if it fails to secure a loan.
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) directors told lawmakers
that the company requires three billion rand ($207 million) and that it had
launched a process to lay off a third of its full-time employees.
By “February we might not even be able to pay full salaries. March is our
day zero if nothing happens,” board member Mathatha Tsedu told a committee of
members of parliament.
The directors said the company had on Tuesday approached the labour
arbitration agency to retrench 981 of its 3,370 staffers.
Another 1,200 of its 2,400 freelancers are also earmarked for dismissal.
SABC posted losses of 622 million rand ($45 million) in the financial year
ending March 2018.
It projects that this will deepen to 803 million rand by the end of March
next year.
“The threat of commercial insolvency is increasing quite significantly,”
said company CEO Madoda Mxakwe.
The company’s financial troubles worsened during the tenure of its former
chief operating officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, an ally of ex-president Jacob
Zuma.
The SABC has three free-to-air television channels and 18 stations
broadcasting in all of the country’s 11 official languages.
BSS/AFP/HR/1045