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The newly appointed Minister of Communications, Ms Ayanda Dlodlo accompanied by Deputy Minister Ms Thandi Mahabehlala, has dedicated her first days in Office to dealing with the pressing issues within the portfolio through meetings with board members and executives of all entities reporting to the Ministry.

Forming part of this series of meetings was the engagement with the SABC to be briefed on the current position of the public broadcaster and for the executive committee led by the interim board to share the challenges the broadcaster encounters that require intervention of the Minister at political level.

Minister Dlodlo has directed the interim board to commence with its responsibilities with immediate effect, in line with Section 15A(3)(4) of the Broadcasting Act.

The presentation made to the Minister yesterday included issues relating to the governance challenges, the funding model and the proposed legislation that could further affect the financial position of the public broadcaster. Minister Dlodlo immediately tasked the interim board to work closely with the executives to develop a suitable plan to revive the financial position of the broadcaster and to report back to the Minister before the end of this week.

In seeking to tackle the governance issues within the broadcaster, Minister Dlodlo will convene a follow-up meeting with the interim board and executive tomorrow that will give strategic direction to the SABC team as it works on resolving the legacy issues.

As a government shareholder representative, Minister Dlodlo is confident that the interim board is fit and proper to resolve the issues the SABC is faced with.

Issued by GCIS on behalf of the Ministry of Communications