PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
SASFED (South African Screen Federation) is the national federation of independent film, television
and audiovisual content industry organisations in South Africa. SASFED
represents a broad spectrum of industry players, via affiliates representing
several thousand individual members and hundreds of member companies employing
up to a hundred staff. SASFED as such represents an industry which
has been severely damaged by the ongoing financial crisis at the
SABC and will continue to be further damaged if the SABC is left
to literally dwindle into the abyss.
We are convinced that the SABC can be
a viable independent public broadcaster with an independent
board and a good management team. However none of this is possible without
the SABC being able to access a loan to dig itself out of the
present crisis. Besides our concern for workers at the SABC, we are
deeply concerned about our industry - we have already cut staff,
lost companies and some have still not been paid revenues owed to
them by the public broadcaster. It is clear to the entire media eco-system
that the present crisis needs first to be averted before serious work
can be put into turning the institution around.
We would like to make a
call to all the present stakeholders to avert the crisis - to stop the
tide of resignations, the impasse, the infighting and re-enter into
a working relationship to save our national broadcaster.
It is with dire concern for our
industry that we align ourselves with the following statements released by
SOS Coalition and the Media Monitoring Africa.
Herewith Excerpts:
First – the Board cannot be allowed to become
inquorate and unable to operate: It needs stability
not another interim/final Board circus – which would be the fourth in just over
a decade.
Second – the National Treasury, together with the
President must immediately provide the SABC with a government guarantee – which we stress is not a bailout, it is a guarantee, giving the SABC’s
lenders and creditors a measure of comfort that the Board and management has
political support.
Third – given the tension and uncertainty
that this has raised, we call on the SABC Board to withdraw the section 189
Notice with immediate effect. The withdrawal
does not have to be indefinite. But we recognise that temperatures are such
across the political spectrum that this is not serving the public interest at
this time.
End Quote.
SASFED calls on all stakeholders to come back
to the table to immediately avert the collapse and support the SABC
to rebuild this institution that is in the public interest.
SASFED
Co-Chairs
Lwazi
Manzi & Pat van Heerden
Pat
van Heerden: 083 258 3226
