Deputy Speaker, while millions of South Africans watched the Springboks clinch magnificent victory this weekend, let's not forget that they almost missed watching this match as the SABC didn't have enough money to air any of the other matches. This Rugby World Cup was a stark reminder of the serious problems this department and its entities - in particular the public broadcaster, are facing. Just take these three facts into account. By the end of March 2019, the SABC had a cash balance of just R72 million; losses during the past financial year amounted to R482 million and the Auditor- General gave the entity a qualified audit with irregular expenditure standing at R336 million.
Recently, the SABC got another multibillion rand bailout from government. How many times are we going to repeat this process? The SABC steals our money, nobody is held accountable and the taxpayers must fork out even more. Rinse and repeat, year after year. Unlike the Bokke, this team is not a winning one. We have been kicked out of that match because of foul play and a big red card is being shown by the Auditor-General. As we limp slowly
into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we have little faith that government can turn the ship around.
Even other entities such as the SA Post Office is in shambles - with the CEO resigning, the board virtually vacant and the entity suffering a net loss of R1,1 billion. As we cheer the Springboks' victory, the fact is that we have very little to cheer in this department. Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has time after time shown her interference with the board of the SABC and of course with her hand on the camera, and as the captain of this team, she has shown poor leadership. The final whistle is blown and the message to her and the team is quite clear and it says, get off the field. Thank you, House Chair. [Applause.]