SABC has unleashed debt collectors to chase households
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The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is intensifying its efforts to recover unpaid TV licence fees by sending SMS reminders to households, warning of potential action from debt collectors.
The broadcaster’s aggressive debt recovery drive comes as non-compliance with TV licence payments continues to rise, placing growing financial strain on thew public broadcaster.
South Africans who own television sets are required to pay an annual TV licence fee of R265, which was introduced to help fund the SABC and support local programming.
However, the rise of streaming platforms and digital content has led many consumers to question the relevance of the fee.
SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli previously told Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) that declining TV licence revenue was affecting the broadcaster’s ability to fund its public mandate.
She said less than 20% of households required to pay TV licences were complying.
“Fifty-five percent of our mandate costs are funded, and they are funded by declining licence fees, so in South Africa, less than 20% of households that should be paying for a TV licence actually pay for a TV licence,” Chabeli said.
Despite the low compliance rate, the broadcaster has continued pursuing households with unpaid accounts and warned that interest penalties could apply to overdue balances.
SMSes seen by IOL show households receiving messages warning them to settle outstanding balances to avoid being handed over to debt collectors.
One message read: “FINAL NOTICE. Avoid being handed over to Debt Collectors. Pay TV Lic balance R1325.00.”
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies chairperson Khusela Diko has previously confirmed that she also owes outstanding SABC TV licence fees.