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Pretoria - Minister of Communications Siphiwe Nyanda on Thursday said operational obstacles at state broadcaster SABC have been overcome, but described signal distributor Sentech as being in "terminal decline".
p> Nyanda disclosed the results of an inquiry into the corporate affairs of the two state organisations, conducted by a task team established in June 2009.Sentech, which used to be part of the SABC and continues to derive about 75% of its revenue from the state broadcaster, was described in the report as "rudderless, inadequately funded and misdirected".
"The organisation [Sentech] is propped up by government grants and is not based on growth of revenue - this is what makes it terminal," said chairperson of the ministerial task team Themba Langa.
The task team recommended that Sentech strengthen its leadership and governance, diversify its product offerings and use private-public partnerships to exploit unused or underutilised licences it holds.
"This report is long overdue," said Nyanda.
"In my budget speech [June 2009] I indicated I would appoint a task team to look into the SABC and Sentech. In particular the SABC was bedevilled by a crisis of major proportions," he said. "Parliament was preparing to replace the board that was sitting at that time."
He explained that the task team had found a gap between the board of directors and management at the SABC and advised closer working relationships between the two.
"The SABC issues were largely resolved over time," Nyanda said.
"After the appointment of the task team, parliament proceeded to appoint an interim board which came into office and worked cojointly with the task team," said Nyanda. "What you would see as the product of the interim board was to a degree also informed by the task team."
Nyanda said the SABC board would be trusted to make further changes and pursue disciplinary action against members of its management responsible for the broadcaster's problems.
- Fin24.com
