INQUIRY
Why the SABC-MultiChoice deal may be cancelled
The MultiChoice contract appears in a parliamentary inquiry’s list of ‘questionable transactions’ that should be probed
MultiChoice’s controversial contract with the SABC is at risk of being cancelled after a parliamentary inquiry recommended the broadcaster’s interim board should launch an independent investigation into the deal. President Jacob Zuma is expected to appoint the interim board later this week. The inquiry’s final report, adopted last Tuesday, included the MultiChoice contract in a list of "questionable transactions" that should be probed. The R570m five-year contract was signed by former chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng in 2013. In terms of the deal, the SABC supplies MultiChoice’s DStv platform with a 24-hour news channel, an entertainment channel called Encore and access to the public broadcaster’s archives. The inquiry heard contradictory evidence from witnesses about whether the SABC’s archives were still accessible to the broader public or available only on pay-channel DStv, which would violate the Broadcasting Act. Before the contract was approved, former board member K...
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