Communications minister Solly Malatsi is considering a streaming levy, which would apply to all South Africans who subscribe to local and international streaming services, as an option to help solve the funding crisis at the SABC.

Though not a formal proposal yet, the idea would be to exempt those who pay for a TV licence from paying the levy.

In a response to a parliamentary question by Inkatha Freedom Party MP Khethambala Sithole, Malatsi said deficiencies in the TV licence model have forced government to look at other methods to fund the public broadcaster.

“The current TV licence model is inadequate due to low compliance, high collection costs and inflation eroding its value,” Malatsi said in his response to Sithole. “A charge on local and international streaming services, exempting TV licence holders, [would] modernise funding and improve compliance through automatic collection.”

Malatsi acknowledged that a drawback of this approach is that it may raise subscription costs and require “regulatory alignment” to enforce. The SABC provides streaming services via its own platform, SABC Plus, which is free to access.

Other options being explored by the department include a household/business levy that would be collected by the South African Revenue Service and maintained as an independent SABC fund.

Added tax

According to Malatsi, this option would offer the public broadcaster stable revenue and lower its collection costs. On the downside, the public may resist this intervention as it may be viewed as an added tax in a country where taxpayers are already overburdened.

A conditional grant from national treasury is another option on the cards for the SABC. Malatsi described this as a “temporary measure” to sustain the SABC while a long-term solution to its funding model was being finalised.

“Additionally, the SABC has requested that the [communications department] reapply for a government-backed loan guarantee, now supported by its recent unqualified audit outcome. This would enable the broadcaster to secure an overdraft facility and fund critical infrastructure. While this provides immediate financial flexibility, the SABC must still repay the loan, making long-term revenue stability essential,” the minister said.

Read: Withdrawal of bill puts SABC at risk of collapse: Diko

These ideas for funding the SABC come amid a political battle between Malatsi, a Democratic Alliance MP, and his ANC counterparts in parliament over the minister’s November 2024 decision to pull the SABC Bill from parliament. Malatsi said the bill did not go far enough in addressing the SABC’s funding, a move that attracted vitriol from a number of ANC MPs, including the deputy minister of communications, the ANC’s Mondli Gungubele, minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and parliamentary communications committee chair Khusela Diko.

Diko in November described Malatsi’s move as “catastrophic” for the SABC, accusing him of “sounding the death knell” for the broadcaster.

“To withdraw the bill at this stage means to delay the implementation of crucial reforms necessary to save yet another crucial and strategic public institution. Initiated by the government in 2018 and only introduced to parliament in October 2023, the SABC Bill seeks to, among other things, provide for the continued existence of the SABC…,” Diko stated.

The matter was then handed over to deputy President Paul Mashatile, national assembly speaker Thoko Didiza and Malatsi to debate in a high-level meeting before giving the portfolio committee feedback on the way forward regarding the bill. Earlier this week, Diko confirmed to TechCentral that these discussions were ongoing and the committee was still awaiting feedback before the matter could be taken forward.

Read: High-level meeting to thrash out SABC Bill controversy

Malatsi’s spokesman, Kwena Moloto, told TechCentral on Wednesday that the solutions being explored to fund the SABC were not yet proposals and were still the subject of investigation and debate by members of the portfolio committee.

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