Malatsi defends budget allocation to SABC and Post Office

The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi has defended his budget allocation to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and the Post Office.

Malatsi was speaking to the SABC on the sidelines of the Democratic Alliance (DA)’s Ward One by-election campaign in Kimberley.

On Friday Malatsi presented a budget allocation of more than R700 million to the SABC while the South African Post Office was allocated R1.8 billion.

Malatsi, tabled a departmental budget of R7.8 billion for the 2025/26 financial year on Friday.

R710 million has been allocated to SA Connect programme over the medium-term expenditure framework. SA Connect is a government flagship programme aimed at providing universal access to affordable, reliable and high-speed internet to all citizens.

The minister says the public broadcaster and the Post Office are under serious financial pressure, which threatens their public mandates.

“We have advertised through the department a request for proposal on formulating a funding model for the SABC. I think if you look at the state-owned enterprises, they are under extreme financial pressure. Our approach is to support the SABC in finding ways to generate revenue that will make it sustainable and competitive. The reality is that in this current budget and fiscal the government doesn’t have money to keep on allocating on all entities.”