The SABC was quick to douse flames that rose out of a statement that did the rounds on social media, supposedly announcing the launch of a new ‘car radio licence’.
SABC car radio licence was a hoax, public broadcaster warns
The public broadcaster caught backlash earlier on Monday, after the statement, which can now be regarded as fake, proposed taxing motorists an annual R401 car radio licence fee as a means of supplementing “a dramatic decline in TV licence revenue.”
To disassociate itself from the statement, the origins of which are unknown at this juncture, SABC took to social media and vehemently rubbished the document as “a fake media statement.”
“The SABC has not issued any media statement making such public pronouncements regarding licences for car radios,” the public broadcaster wrote.
This is not the first kerfuffle the SABC has had to address in the recent past. In late 2021, the public broadcaster drew ire from the public after rumours surfaced of its plans to charge Netflix account holders an annual licence fee.
Turns out, former deputy communications minister Pinky Kekana’s remarks she made in Parliament about streaming services possibly collecting TV licences on the SABC’s behalf were grossly misquoted in news reports.
“It has nothing to do with the SABC. Certainly, we have not made any statements (about this), nor do we have any aspirations to have Netflix or any streaming company to collect licence fees (on our behalf),” SABC’s COO Ian Plaatjes told Tech Central.
Here are the licences SABC collects
Currently, SABC only charges an annual fee of R265 for “the legal viewing” of TV in South Africa. TV licence holders can also make a monthly payment of R28 toward their account. This, however, ends up as R336 per annum, with the licence holder shelling out R71 more than the once-off annual fee.
The public broadcaster charges a 10% penalty for every late month “up to a maximum of 100% per annum.”
“So, paying by annual debit order is the most convenient way to ensure that this never happens,” the SABC warns.