LIVE FEED: #StateCaptureInquiry September 4, 2019

File photo: ANA/Karen Sandison

File photo: ANA/Karen Sandison

Published Sep 4, 2019

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Johannesburg - The Zondo commission will continue hearing evidence related to state capture allegations at the SABC. 

The commission will on Wednesday hear testimony from Foeta Krige, Jonathan Thekiso, Krivani Pillay, Mwaba Phiri and Lulama Mokhobo. 

On Tuesday, the inquiry heard from SABC CEO Mzwamadoda Mxakwe. 

Mxakwe said the broadcaster was insolvent and in need of a cash injection. The issues at the organisation are so bad that employees are often worried when payday approaches as to whether their salaries will be paid. 

“The SABC is technically insolvent. We look at the short-term liabilities that exceed our liquid assets, we cannot pay our creditors which today stands at R1,8 billion. We have not been able to pay Multi-Choice and some of our other creditors,” Mxakwe said. 

“We run an organisation where every single month employees are very depressed and they do not know whether they will get their salaries. What we focus on every month is the R265 million that is dedicated to paying salaries. Once we have done that we have nothing left and then we have to get into engagements with some of our creditors. You cannot go on like that, despite the solid strategy we have,” he said. 

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The CEO’s revelations were so disturbing for the chairperson of the commission, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, that he asked how the damage at the organisation had been allowed to continue for so long. 

“It is very worrying. It is not just the SABC, there are issues with SAA, Denel and Eskom. There have been over the years ministers responsible for these entities and there have been boards and CEOs and CFOs. How did all of this happen when there were all these people. How did we get into a position where state-owned entities have got to this level. It is very worrying. It’s a sense of frustration to say what is it as a country that we got wrong? If so many structures appeared to have failed,” Zondo commented. 

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