Shuttle services and vehicles rented by the SABC between April 2010 and February this year cost nearly R17 million. Photo: Cara Viereckl Shuttle services and vehicles rented by the SABC between April 2010 and February this year cost nearly R17 million. Photo: Cara Viereckl
Shuttle services and vehicles rented by the SABC between April 2010 and February this year cost nearly R17 million, it emerged on Wednesday, but the public broadcaster defended the expenditure.
Spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said it included the cost of renting outside broadcast units for the SABC’s news, sports and radio divisions “and all brand activations, for our 18 radio stations and three TV channels”.
He said the period in review included the World Cup and the 2011 local government elections, which also required more resources. An internal forensic audit is still under way into a lease agreement that was exposed last October and that could have seen the SABC saddled with a R20m bill.
The deal was to hire cars for news teams, but caused embarrassment for the broadcaster because the employee involved lacked the proper authority – and because luxury German sedans were offered, as standard vehicles were not available.
Kganyago said the tender was never finalised.
An SABC staffer had since resigned, but he could not divulge further details. Kganyago confirmed the forensic audit was still under way. Details of the latest expenditure emerged in a written reply to a parliamentary question.
Communications Minister Dina Pule told DA MP Marian Shinn that just more than R7m was spent on car rental between April 2010 and March last year.
Between April 1 last year and February this year, a total of R9 110 403.85 was spent.
Combined, the money spent on car rental amounted to R16 159 309.00. Shinn said this worked out to R23 250 a day and equated to the SABC buying a brand new Polo 1.4 Trendline (retailing at about R154 000) every seven days.
Political Bureau