SABC content deals under the spotlight
THE SABC has revealed details of a contract for five international news agencies. The three-year contract, valued at R62.3 million, has been queried by outgoing Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu.
According to Makwetu, it was awarded to Reuters, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Feature Stories, Associated Press (AP) and AFP in July 2017 because of the SABC’s news and current affairs division having limited international news gathering capability and based on the demand for international news.
The SABC also required extensive international content to supplement the news gathering of the three remaining international bureaus in Kenya, the US and Zimbabwe.
It warned that without the international news content, its competitiveness would be severely hampered.
Documents seen by Independent Media show that Reuters had the lion’s share of the deal with nearly R32.2m over the three years, while Feature Stories, which is owned by journalist Simon Marks, received over R12.6m.
AFP received almost R9m, BBC about R5m and AP got over R3.5m.
In its business case motivating for the contract, the SABC explained that due to the country’s interconnectedness with the rest of the world, it means it cannot ignore international affairs and that the content it was purchasing would enhance its ability to inform and educate its viewers and listeners about developments that impact on their lives.
Makwetu also found that the contract was not approved at the required level of seniority after the SABC’s delegation of authority framework, which guides the levels where contracts may be approved and by up to how much.