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SABC posts R411mln loss

───   17:45 Thu, 29 Sep 2016

SABC posts R411mln loss | News Article

Johannesburg - Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe on Thursday called on the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to respect the rule of law regarding the decision to reappoint Hlaudi Motsoeneng to an executive position.


This comes after the SABC on Tuesday announced that its embattled former chief operations officer (COO) would be reverting back to his old position as group executive of corporate affairs.

As group executive of Corporate Affairs, Motsoeneng will oversee all provincial offices and newsrooms of the SABC.

This was despite the Supreme Court Appeal’s (SCA) decision to uphold a high court ruling invalidating his permanent appointment as COO after the Public Protector made adverse findings against him.

Speaking during a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday following an extended meeting of the Cabinet, Radebe said government believed Motsoeneng’s appointment to a new position showed disrespect for the law.

“The decision to re-appoint Mr Motsoeneng in a different position shows disrespect for the rule of law,” Radebe read from a Cabinet statement.

“We urged the SABC board to respect the letter and the spirit of the SCA ruling and we have instructed Minister of Communications, Faith Muthambi, to meet with the board.”

Radebe’s post-Cabinet remarks come on the heels of African National Congress (ANC) Chief Whip, Jackson Mthembu, who on Wednesday called for the dissolution of the SABC board if it was found wanting on reappointing Motsoeneng, saying “a non-employee has ‘miraculously’ become head of corporate affairs”.

Meanwhile, the SABC on Thursday announced it posted a R411 million net loss for the 2015/16 financial year ending on March 31.

The last time the SABC posted a profit was in the 2013/14 financial year where it recorded R358 million net profit.

In the 2014/15 financial year, the SABC suffered a loss of about R395 million.

By the end of March, the SABC had made R7.9 billion in revenue, up from R4.5 billion for the comparative period last year with R2.7 billion in net assets.

The broadcaster said its revenue was impacted by the tough economic climate, increased competition in the broadcasting industry, and television and radio advertising budget cuts, particularly by multinationals.

Other factors included expenditure incurred on unforeseen events of national interest, investment in mandated sports and other events yielding negative return, the growth in post-retirement service costs, the impact of tax adjustments arising from correction of prior years’ financials and less than 3 percent funding received from government.

This financial year, the SABC’s cash balance declined to R881 million, down from R1.017 billion last year. Current liabilities stood at R1.7 billion by the end of March, up from R1.4 billion the previous year.

Newly-reappointed group executive of corporate affairs, Motsoeneng, said the financial status of the SABC was not a major issue, so long as the organisation still managed to meet its broadcasting mandate.

ANA

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