SABC warns election coverage could be limited without R120m funding
Updated Aug. 11, 2026, 5:34 p.m. | By Faith Modise The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) said it remains committed to providing comprehensive…
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Updated Aug. 11, 2026, 5:34 p.m. | By Faith Modise
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) said it remains committed to providing comprehensive coverage of the upcoming Local Government Elections, but its ability to scale up operations could be affected if it does not receive an additional R120 million in funding.
“We still don't have an indication of whether that funding will be coming through,” SABC Board Chairperson Khathutshelo Ramukumba said.
The public broadcaster was updating the Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies on Tuesday on its readiness to cover the elections.
The elections are expected to be on 4 November 2026.
“The only challenge that we anticipate would be that because we're operating from the normal budgeting, which for news and current affairs would ordinarily be adequate to cover normal news coverage, whereas an election year like this one demands that much more scale of coverage,” he said.
According to SABC chairperson Nomsa Chabeli, the additional resources are needed to ensure fair and equitable coverage of all political parties, including independent candidates, while also reaching voters across the country.
The SABC said the funding would cover a wide range of election-related needs, including editorial operations, technology, results data, digital capabilities and operational support.
Chabeli added that multilingual coverage was particularly resource-intensive, and some of the broadcaster's technology has already reached or passed its end-of-life, creating concerns about resilience and backup capacity.
The SABC said the timing of the funding is critical, with only three months left before the elections.
“We're literally sitting at three months before the elections themselves. So the time is very tight,” Chabeli said, adding that it needs the period between August and November to deliver the required technology.
The SABC says it has already established governance structures and is engaging with the Independent Electoral Commission on its election preparations, including results operations and regional mobilisation.
It also reiterated that it has strengthened its verification processes to guard against misinformation, deepfakes and manipulated content during the election period.
However, the funding concerns have raised questions from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) about whether the broadcaster will be able to provide equal coverage to all political parties.
EFF Member of Parliament Sixolise Gcilishe told the committee that going into the elections without the requested funding could result in favouritism.
“I’m very concerned if SABC were to go to elections without the budget that they say they require, and my concern is that there will be favouritism,” the representative said.
The EFF reflected on its Women’s Day events held across the country, saying the SABC failed to cover several events in Gauteng, despite requests for coverage.
The EFF question…