Malatsi seeks out of court settlement in analogue switch off case

Communications and Digital Technology Minister, Solly Malatsi

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister, Solly Malatsi, says his department will seek an out of court settlement in the analogue switch off court case.

Public broadcaster the SABC and others took the matter to court to halt the analogue switch off earlier this year.

Malatsi has also announced a R704-million allocation to the SABC and R1.8 billion to the SA Post Office.

During his budget vote in Parliament, Malatsi said the department will negotiate with broadcasters for amicable solution to the legal impasse regarding analogue switch off.

“Earlier this year the analogue switch off which was planned for the end of March was halted by the courts. Having taken note of the court’s findings, we have given the department’s legal representatives the mandate to engage with their counterparts to ensure that we can find a non-litigious solution to this lingering issue.”

Meanwhile MK Party MP, Sihle Ngubane, has called for a forensic audit on all the bailouts given to the Post Office.

“Let us not pretend the post office is no longer a national asset. This entity is a crime scene on its own it received R361 million bailout, and we still ask where the audit report is, why are our workers unpaid, branches closed, and communities left stranded.

We as uMkhonto weSizwe we demand full forensic audit of all SAPO bailouts since 2019.”