EFF condemns the covert section 189 process at the SABC and retrenchment of workers
12 January 2021
The EFF condemns the covert section 189 process that is underway at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), which has been rolled out along with a framework for restructuring and recruitment into the various divisions of the SABC. The neo-liberal restructuring of the SABC, which comes at the expense of hundreds of workers represents a malicious attempt at undermining the core mandate of the entity, and its ability to disseminate information to the most marginalized and poor South Africans.
The EFF stands opposed to any agenda of renewal of the SABC which is based on subjecting people to unemployment. There is absolutely no logic to the argument that sustainability and revenue of the SABC can be achieved on the principle basis of the firing of experienced employees who are already in the entity. It is a shallow argument, that is in line with the broader economic consensus in this country to dismantle national assets for the purposes of privatization and capture.
The SABC is an integral organ of unbiased communication, development and broadcasting in South Africa that most be defended at all costs. Currently, the planned supposed 'transition' and 'restructuring', will minimize the capacity of the SABC to communicate in all African languages, and diminish its ability to roll-out news production and broadcasting in rural areas.
It is nothing but a narrow attempt to transform the SABC into an urban non-entity, with little human resource to create a revenue base on the basis of strategic investments in content production, export of quality productions and will render the entity unable to compete in the arena of news coverage and broadcasting.
The loss of human resource must never be celebrated, particularly with the potential the SABC has to broaden its mandate and ability to compete in the global communications and broadcasting arena.
Issued by Vuyani Pambo,National Spokesperson, EFF, 12 January 2021
