The SABC asks for R120 million to cover the November elections

But how much of the local campaign trail the nation’s free broadcaster will cover remains to be seen.

Earlier this year, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) approached National Treasury for R120 million.

The funding request will fill the financial gap for local election coverage.

The SABC’s Election Coverage Needs Funding

On 5 August 2026, the SABC resubmitted a request to National Treasury for R120 million.

But by Friday, 2 October 2026, National Treasury still hadn’t approved the request, the Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies heard.

This raised concerns about the broadcaster’s readiness to cover the elections and meet its public service mandate.

Despite being at an “advanced stage” in planning its election coverage, the SABC has not reached final “operational readiness.”

The elections are in one month.

But the SABC promised to cover local elections regardless of the funding outcome.

The broadcaster said the funding outcome would only affect the “scale, depth, technical capability and resilience of its coverage.”

SABC Funding Gap Could Impact Elections

The Committee stressed this could impact the information South Africans can access during the election process.

A lack of funding may limit coverage for candidates and political parties.

This could hinder the SABC’s duty to provide “equitable coverage of election campaigns” and impact the free and fair elections.

South Africans need complete election coverage to make informed decisions when casting their vote, a constitutional right.

According to the SABC’s Group Chief Executive Officer Nomsa Chabeli, the funding would affect the broadcaster’s election-readiness plans and editorial operations.

How much funding it receives will impact its ability to:

• Deploy personnel across provinces.
• Improve the technology at the Independent Electoral Commission’s Results Operation Centre.
• Publish results feeds and data.
• Carry out rehearsals and implement backup plans.

But Chabeli reassured the Committee that, regardless of the funding outcome, the SABC would still cover the elections.

The SABC’s Struggle for Funds

The broadcaster has struggled to meet its financial obligations as fewer South Africans pay their TV licences.

But the SABC is committed to increasing compliance.

Recent reporting shows the broadcaster has resorted to threats of imprisonment for those who have an outstanding balance.

This comes after months of debt collectors pursuing indebted licence holders by SMS.