SABC financial crisis continues nonpayment of the music industry
The SABC financial crisis is a tornado of destruction.
In September 2018 we reported that SAMPRA (South African Music Performance Rights Association) was suing the SABC for R64-million over nonpayment of royalties to musicians local and abroad.
Now 4-moths-later and the SABC has halted payment of music royalties for sings used on its TV and Radio stations since last year, Samro says.
In its latest annual report, Samro revealed that the broadcaster owed the organization upwards of R55.5 million in royalties at the end of June 2018.
“Continuous efforts are still in progress to engage with the SABC management in order resolve the delayed and slow payment of the increasing outstanding balance; so that future distributions are not negatively affected,” Samro said in its report.
The SABC insolvency
We are no strangers to the troubles of our public broadcaster, as this house of cards continues to collapse, operating under technical solvency.
What is deplorable is the fact that in March 2018, the SABC revealed that it had to pay R22 million in defense of former chief of operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who was involved in no less than 15 different cases since the 2013/14 financial year.
He was eventually removed as COO in 2017, after sucking millions from the company.
As it stands, the SABC is close to R700 million in debt, with further accruals of R475 million expected.
Despite retrenching 981 permanent employees and 1 200 freelancers, the broadcaster said that “there was simply no manner in which a complete organisational wide restructuring and reductions can be avoided”.
There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for the SABC financial crisis.
Sourced
