SABC condemns DA conduct

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:14

In the midst of all the haggling between the SABC board and its chairman Dr Ben Ngubane and newly suspended GCEO Solly Mokoetle, the public broadcaster has issued a statement describing the conduct of the Democratic Alliance (DA) as "despicable and disgraceful".

The statement reads: "The accusation that SABC News offered to sell News coverage is devoid of truth, malicious and intended to mislead the public. We reject this accusation with the contempt it deserves.

"We are shocked by the incredible low level at which the Provincial Government of the Western Cape would bend to score cheap political points.

"As matter of fact and policy, SABC News does not charge for the coverage of News and Current Affairs.

"The DA is deliberately misleading the public and distorting the real facts. What happened is that the SABC made a proposal to the Western Cape Government to jointly host a special Outside Broadcast production focusing on the successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup, the economic spin-offs and plans to sustain the momentum of the epic event.

"The amount quoted was specifically for the deployment of Outside Broadcast facilities to carry the special live event. This was going to be a once off production and had nothing to do with the sale of news.

"This was stated very clearly in our correspondence to the DA which, in principle, accepted the proposal and advised that the Provincial Government would be ready to consider getting involved in such a broadcast in March 2011.

"It is therefore despicable and unethical for the DA to turn around and accuse the SABC of demanding money for coverage of "hard news"."

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