SABC warns it is at a financial crossroads as the Department says the board acted in bad faith

Minister of Communications, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. (@ PresidencyZA / Twitter)

Parliament’s Communications Portfolio Committee heard from Deputy Communications Minister Pinky Kekana on Wednesday night that the department was as surprised as the rest of South Africa to learn that the South African Broadcasting Corporation planned to proceed with downsizing inquiries.

On Wednesday, the public service broadcaster surprised South Africans when it announced the start of the downsizing inquiries in terms of section 189 of the Labor Relations Act, the morning after they breached the original announcement on Tuesday.

In an evening virtual meeting, the SABC found few options for a comprehensive audience when Kekana told the committee that the Department of Communications discovered with the rest of South Africa that the broadcaster planned to go ahead with curtailment inquiries.