BusinessLive reports that the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Tuesday said it remained in a dire financial state and would probably be unable to pay salaries and service providers by March 2019 should the current financial crisis not be addressed urgently.  

SABC executives told MPs the broadcaster needed a cash injection of at least R3bn to stay afloat and that the public broadcaster had no choice but to cut jobs to remain viable.  However, the Treasury has not yet acceded to the SABC’s request for yet another government guarantee, which was submitted more than a year ago.  Briefing Parliament’s communications portfolio on the proposed retrenchments, the executives had a tough time trying to explain the need for job cuts at the corporation.  MPs across the political spectrum indicated they were opposed to the planned retrenchments, which are likely to affect close to 1,000 permanent employees and 1,200 freelancers.  “The SABC has already embarked upon several cost-cutting measures, but there is simply no manner in which a complete organisational wide restructuring and reduction of positions can be avoided, and with it, the issue of possible retrenchments are regrettably contemplated,” said SABC group executive for human resources Jonathan Thekiso.  He also said the SABC had uncovered a number of irregular promotions and salary increases by the previous executives which had resulted in the inflation of the salary bill.

• Read the full original of the report by Bekezela Phakathi at BusinessLive
• Read too, SABC will run out of wages money in March, as staff wonder where the biscuits went, at The Citizen
• And also, We soon won't be able to pay salaries at SABC, Parliament hears, at Fin24

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