Minister Slams “Terrible Idea” as SABC’s TV Licence Faces the Chopping Block

The decades-old SABC TV licence is on life support, with a new funding model due in days set to determine its fate. The leading contender for replacement is a tech-neutral household levy, similar to Germany’s Rundfunkbeitrag. However, the proposal has met a formidable opponent: Communications Minister Solly Malatsi, who has publicly branded it a “terrible idea.”

The public broadcaster is in a financial chokehold, crippled by a TV licence avoidance rate that hit 85% in 2025. SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli and board chair Khathutshelo Ramukumba argue the licence is an archaic failure in a digital age where content is consumed on multiple devices, not a single living room TV. They champion a mandatory household levy as the only viable path to fund the SABC’s costly public mandate.

Minister Malatsi’s “Unfair” and Untimely Tax Concern

Minister Malatsi, however, is pushing back hard. In a recent interview, he argued a blanket levy would be unfair and ill-timed. “The applicability of it has some unfair components,” he stated, highlighting the burden on households already grappling with a high cost of living. “The thought of a potential additional tax in this current dispensation would not gain favour with the public.”

Instead, Malatsi pointed a finger at the government itself, the SABC’s biggest advertiser, for not putting “its money where its mouth is” to sustain the public mandate it imposeslike multilingual news broadcasts that eat into lucrative advertising slots.

The Countdown to a New Model

Research firm BMI TechKnowledge was appointed in September 2025 to craft the new funding framework, with a final report expected by 6 February 2026. Once presented, the proposal will require intense consultation with the Minister of Finance and Treasury, meaning any new system is still months, if not years, from implementation.

The debate exposes a fundamental rift: should every household fund public broadcasting as a societal good, or is it an unjust tax in a struggling economy? The SABC’s leadership sees a household levy as salvation; the minister sees it as political and economic suicide. As the deadline looms, South Africans are left waiting to see whether they’ll be saying a final goodbye to the TV licenceonly to be greeted by a new charge on their municipal bill.