Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, the South African Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies has released the South African Broadcasting Corporation SOC Ltd Bill. The Bill, in particular, retains the SABC’s TV licensing regime rather than implementing a household levy and does not extend the requirement for a TV license beyond the purchase of television sets.
It does not say if private subscription broadcasters like DStv and Netflix will be required to collect TV licenses on behalf of the SABC. However, the Bill outlines the consequences for people who fail to pay their TV licence fee and empowers the SABC to designate inspectors with authority to enter any property to carry out their duties.
The Bill was approved by Cabinet to be released for public discussion at the end of June. The state broadcaster made several presentations to Parliament proposing alternative ways to fund the SABC and collect TV license fees. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies and the SABC presented two competing models to Parliament to alter how the broadcaster is funded.
They were the following: A new tax known as a “household levy.” Keeping the television license, expanding it to include smartphones and computers, and requiring private broadcasters to collect television license fees on behalf of the SABC. MultiChoice has spoken out against the proposal that would force them to collect TV license fees on behalf of the SABC and expressed support for a device-independent, tech-neutral household levy.
According to the SABC,” the household levy is based on the fact that all South African households can access public broadcasting content, whether via analogue free-to-air TV, radio platforms, DTT, DTH, the Internet, and streaming services through several mobile apps.”
While the Bill supports the TV license to the household levy, it does not mention how it will collect the TV license fees. Instead, it stipulates that the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, in cooperation with the SABC and the Minister, will enact laws governing television licenses.
