SABC denies organising ‘thank you’ event

When it comes to the SABC, you cannot take anything for granted.

So it is no wonder that South Africans were left perplexed by an announcement that the South African Broadcasting Corporation was going to hold a concert to thank itself.

As it turns out, it was more a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand was doing.

Earlier yesterday, a statement, purportedly on behalf of the SABC and issued by a public relations firm, announced that the corporation welcomed the “Thank You SABC Concert”, and all the artists who would perform had embraced and were proud of the broadcaster’s initiative to prioritise and support local music.

Reports following the statement said the cash-strapped broadcaster – which is said to be running at a loss of R1-billion – was footing the bill for the concert, paying for the hiring of the stadium, artists, lights and production.

But late yesterday afternoon, the broadcaster denied it was organising the event, but said it was a media partner for the concert at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

Spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said the SABC was not affiliated with the public relations company that had issued the statement, allegedly on its behalf.

“We distance ourselves from the statement,” Kganyago said.

“The SABC’s only involvement is that it is a media partner of the event, but not an organiser.”