State-owned broadcaster wanted R120 million to cover the elections. Then it asked the government for R495 million.

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) initially wanted R120 million in additional funding to cover the upcoming local government elections.

It subsequently revised this funding requirement to R495 million, over four times what it initially expected.

This was revealed by Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi in response to a Parliamentary question from MP Shaik Subrathie.

Subrathie asked the minister to reveal the amount the SABC requested for its coverage of South Africa’s local elections, set to take place on 4 November.

Malatsi explained that the SABC initially identified that it would need R120 million for its election coverage. The minister received this request on 6 August 2026.

The state-owned broadcaster then revised its request to R495 million, which includes R120 million for “broadcasting operations” and R375 million for “related infrastructure”.

This revised request was also prepared in August 2026, the minister said. He did not provide a specific date.

“The funding requirement had already been identified and submitted through the 2026/27 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework process and was therefore not unforeseeable,” Malatsi said.

“I have consistently advocated for the SABC’s funding requirements through the appropriate government processes.”

Malatsi said he has engaged with the President and the Finance Minister regarding the SABC’s funding requirements.

“Following those engagements, it became clear that further work was required to substantiate the SABC’s funding needs,” he said.

This includes substantiating the cost of delivering its public broadcasting mandate and the principal cost drivers underlying those requirements.

In relation to this, Malatsi requested the SABC to provide detailed information on:

• The costing of its public broadcasting mandate
• The revenue attributable to its various mandate obligations
• The financial consequences of compliance with those obligations
• The assumptions and evidence underpinning its forecasts

“This information is intended to enable proper consideration of the SABC’s funding requirements and to place the corporation in a position to motivate its case further,” he said.

“The department has also pursued additional funding through the applicable government budgetary processes. The earlier submissions did not result in additional funding being allocated.”

Malatsi said the SABC has also been advised not to plan on the assumption that additional funding will be forthcoming.