SABC released a statement addressing concerns around the financial woes faced by legendary actor Vusi Thanda.
SABC responds to Vusi Thanda
The public broadcaster was forced to issue a response to online chatter around the viral video Thanda posted, begging for donations, after the actor, in an interview with IOL Entertainment, revealed the depths of his financial situation.
Thanda revealed his career came to a screeching halt in October 2020, when he was diagnosed with diabetes. The actor’s deteriorating health made it impossible to honour his obligations on The Queen and other gigs.
Consequently, the bills piled up and left with nowhere else to turn, Thanda, with the assistance of a woman known on Facebook as Nozuko Habe, looked to the public for help.
In a statement, SABC explained the last residual payment made to the actor for the repeat broadcast of the classic sitcom, Emzini Wezinsizwa, was in 2020, “and any claims for the last repeat for Mr Thanda have been settled.”
“The SABC can confirm that our records show that we are up to date with submitted payments for repeated fees, in regard to Mr Vusi Thanda,” the public broadcaster’s Gugu Ntuli noted.
Emzini Wezinsizwa was decommissioned in 2003, following a wage fallout between actors, Roland Mqwebu (Mkhize Khabazela), Jabulani Nkosi (Benson Chirwali) and Jerry Phele (Thabang Mofokeng), and the show’s producers.
Thanda remained on the sitcom, playing the role of Moses Tshawe, when the rebellious trio was replaced by Siyabonga Twala, Siphiwe Nkosi and Augustine Shitolo. However, without the magical chemistry of the original cast, the show could not survive.
Since then, the sitcom has been rebroadcasted on SABC channels and, according to Ntuli, the public broadcaster has, to-date, honoured its residual payments to all actors, including Thanda.
“In terms of repeat fee payments, it must be noted that actors need to submit claims in order for the SABC to make payment. If no claim is submitted, the SABC would not be in a position to process as there would be no record of a claim,” she added.