SABC receives no dedicated Treasury funding for R120m 2026 election coverage
The SABC’s R120 million request for dedicated 2026 local government election coverage funding was not approved, raising questions about the scale of its planned coverage.
The SABC has not received dedicated funding from the National Treasury for its R120 million allocation to cover the upcoming local government elections set for November 4, 2026. Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi confirmed this during parliamentary questioning by IFP MP Alco Ngobese. Despite the department's efforts to include the funding requirement in the 2025/26 and 2026/27 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) processes, the requested funds were not provided.
The SABC's CEO, Nomsa Chabeli, had hoped to cover the elections with a wall-to-wall coverage similar to the 2024 national and general elections. The Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, led by Khusela Sangoni-Diko, emphasized that the SABC's lack of funding jeopardizes the broadcaster's ability to deliver comprehensive election coverage, which is crucial for a fair and balanced democratic process.
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