The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has clarified that the Afrikaans news bulletin has not been discontinued and that the language remains an important part of its public broadcasting mandate.
This, was after Afrikaans news bulletins did not air during the usual time slot at the weekend.
SABC CLARIFIES NON-BROADCAST OF AFRIKAANS NEWS BULLETIN
On Tuesday, 8 April, the SABC acknowledged that the bulletin did not air in its regular time slot on Saturday and Sunday. It also confirmed that this was a scheduling error and should not have happened.
The public broadcaster said as management, they are treating this matter with the seriousness it deserves, and consequence management processes are currently underway to address the internal oversight that led to this unfortunate incident.
SABC spokesperson Mmoni Ngubane said they want to assure the public and their stakeholders that there is no plan or decision to discontinue or deprioritise Afrikaans news. The Afrikaans television news bulletin continues to air as scheduled from Monday to Friday, and the weekend bulletin will also continue in its regular time slot going forward.
“Afrikaans remains an important part of our public broadcasting mandate, just as all South African languages are. The SABC is committed to providing equitable access to news and information in all official languages. The SABC is actively working on a broader content and scheduling strategy aimed at strengthening our language offering, including Afrikaans. This process is part of our new financial year’s content strategy and will be communicated more fully in due course.
“We acknowledge the deep concern this weekend’s error has caused, particularly within Afrikaans-speaking communities. We extend our heartfelt apology to the South African public, and especially to those who felt aggrieved by this disruption.” Ngubane said.
AFRIFORUM DEMANDS AN EXPLANATION
Reacting to the non-broadcast of the Afrikaans bulletins at the weekend, AfriForum said access to vital information in one of the official languages of the country is the most important reason for the SABC’s existence.
Furthermore, the institution has constantly been struggling with budget shortfalls in recent years, and it is therefore incomprehensible that Afrikaans news, which according to their information is a key source of advertising revenue, is subject to fluctuations and omissions of this nature without explanation.
“Afrikaans consumers are loyal and financially strong. About a third of the market is Afrikaans. This makes it even more incomprehensible that the SABC is choosing to alienate this market. It is choosing to kill a proverbial goose that is laying golden eggs! We are extremely concerned about the role played by the public broadcaster. Not only Afrikaans speakers but also speakers of other, smaller language groups in the country have long been dissatisfied with news bulletins that are broadcasted at inconvenient times,” AfriForum head of cultural affairs Alana Bailey said.
DO YOU THINK THE OUTRAGE OVER THE SABC’S FAILURE TO BROADCAST THE AFRIKAANS NEWS BULLETIN WAS JUSTIFIED?
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