SABC headquarters evacuated after fire

The SABC’s Auckland Park headquarters were evacuated after a fire broke out on Thursday a day after officials from the state broadcaster were outlining plans in parliament to overhaul its ageing facilities.

The fire is said to have started in the building’s lift pit area on the ground floor. No significant damage was caused and no injuries reported.

On Wednesday SABC CFO Yolande van Biljon told parliament’s portfolio committee on communications and digital technologies that the public broadcaster’s facilities, and its Auckland Park headquarters in particular, are more than 45 years old and had received limited or no maintenance over the past 15 years.

DA MP, Natasha Mazzone, had asked the SABC about the dilapidated state of its buildings, including a lack of water and faulty air-conditioning in studios.

Van Biljon said the SABC was significantly affected by water cuts as was the case in Johannesburg in general. 

“Ultimately, we don’t have water to run our chillers, which is what powers our air-cons. We are then forced to power these down,” she said.

The SABC has backup water for as long as a day on campus and is increasing that to about two-and-a-half days, she added.

“Yes, we are operating in facilities that are 45 years old-plus and [we] require an extensive capital overhaul and, of course, noting that for the better part of that period, in particular the last 15 years, there was limited to no investment in infrastructure both in buildings as well as technology,” Van Biljon said.

“We are far advanced with the workspace strategy and hopefully the final approvals and funding models can be secured in the next three months at which point we will look at completely overhauling the Henley facility, in particular where the studios and news [facilities] are, to bring it up to date with the best practices in terms of office space,” she added.

Van Biljon said R238m was being invested to enhance software and related technology in the news division alone. The work started last year and will continue for another four years.

The broadcaster is hoping to raise about R121m from the proceeds of properties it has selling across the country.

Journalist Anton Harber posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he was at the SABC at the weekend and there was no air-conditioning, no water in the building and the sound system was malfunctioning.

“[U]unfortunately, in events like that and often with no advance notice, we do find ourselves challenged and if that coincides with the hottest weekends so far, then you find what happened this weekend, unfortunately,” Van Biljon said. 

Note: October 12 2023
This story has been updated with news of a fire at the SABC’s headquarters

TimesLIVE