DA and AfriForum challenge SABC over sudden removal of Afrikaans news segment.
Image: Karen Sandison
The Democratic Alliance (DA) and AfriForum have prodded the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) regarding the disappearance of the Afrikaans news segment.
"The sudden disappearance of the Afrikaans news bulletin this past weekend, without any communication from the SABC on the reasons behind this decision, is troubling. The DA demands that the SABC provide immediate clarification on why this essential service has been halted. It is crucial that we understand whether this is a permanent change, a once-off incident, or something else entirely," said DA national spokesperson, Willie Aucamp.
Aucamp went on to say that the DA will write to the SABC to get immediate answers on this topic and ask the broadcaster to restore the Afrikaans news bulletin as soon as possible, ensuring that all South Africans, regardless of language choice, continue to receive credible and timely news.
"For many South Africans, the SABC Nuus on SABC2, which has a devoted audience of over 300,000, has been an essential source of news and information. All of these viewers must pay for their TV licenses, and it is completely unacceptable that the SABC would show such indifference towards such a large segment of the population. As the public broadcaster the SABC has a duty to serve all language communities."
Similarly, lobby group AfriForum has promised to take on the SABC. In a letter sent to the chairperson, chief executive and management of the SABC, AfriForum demanded an explanation.
"Access to vital information in one of the official languages of the country is the most important reason for the SABC's existence," said AfriForum's head of Cultural Affairs, Alana Bailey.
"Furthermore, the institution has constantly been struggling with budget shortfalls in recent years, and it is therefore incomprehensible that Afrikaans news, which according to our information is a key source of advertising revenue, is subject to fluctuations and omissions of this nature without explanation.
She went on to say that 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 broadcast at inconvenient times."
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