Munier paid his TV licence recently. Don’t judge. He felt compelled to do so.
The annual R291.50 payment is due end of January. So by October, a substantial penalty had already accrued.
The last SMS received read: “TV Licence Acc: xxxxxxxxx Bal R477.00 You failed to make payment. Penalties may apply. Call Khumalo Masondo Attorneys: 0104481020/EMAIL: [email protected].”
Great! Nearly R500 and January 2021 is around the corner.
So Munier called the number and tried to skiet them a few kaarte:
Ja, but I don’t watch SABC channels, or even listen to the radio that much.
“Yes, but if you own and use a TV, you must pay sir,” came the answer.
Ja, but it’s lockdown, times are tough, money is tight, R477 is a lot.
“You can pay it off in monthly instalments, sir,” was the auto response.
Munier couldn’t win, so eventually he reluctantly paid up.
Paying your TV licence never feels like money well spent.
The TV programming is not up to scratch.
The selection of movies and series is bot. Stale. And where’s the sports?
A DStv Premium package at R819 per month is daylight robbery, but at least there’s sports.
The only worthwhile reason to part with R291,50 is to support our local arts, performers, journalists and production casts and crews.
The fees also go toward broadcasting infrastructure and operations, as well as radio and digital employees, who provide a vital service.
Worth it, right? Think again.
The public broadcaster is in deep trouble.
This week, the SABC announced a R511 million net loss for the 2019/20 financial year.
In a bid to remain commercially viable, the SABC said it planned to issue retrenchment notices to 400 workers in a bid to save R700m each year for the next three years.
Just over 170 jobs would be saved from those issued with notices.
The organisation would be restructured, salaries frozen for three years, and annual and sick leave policies would be reviewed.
Meanwhile, get this: according to its annual report, the SABC spent more than R2.35 billion paying the salaries of 2 979 employees at an average salary of R791 000 per person during the 2019/20 financial year.
Eight top management employees took home an average salary of R3.9m.
How exactly do you justify retrenching 400 people when people are earning these kinds of salaries?!
It’s a disgrace.
And who has to bail the SABC out of this mess? Us TV koppe and our R291.50.
It won’t be surprising if we see a fee increase next year.
Already, there are proposals to expand the TV licence fee to cover smartphones, tablets and computers.
The SABC also wants to approach MultiChoice streaming services like Netflix to collect TV licences on behalf of the SABC.
It’s k@k en betaal. The SABC is in k@k and we betaal.