This was confirmed by minister of Communications 
Nomvula Mokonyane at parliament on Tuesday.
The situation at SABC is so dire that some of staff and production houses have been not being paid and some contracts not renewed. This has also led to exodus.
It experienced R622million net loss in this financial year.
In her address Mokonyane said government would not allow the public broadcaster “to collapse” and task team had been put together to turn around the situation.
“The Auditor-General has highlighted seriously the viability of the SABC as a going concern and to this end, as the shareholder working with the board, our engagements with the national treasury have been concluded and the National Treasury has granted consent for the SABC to increase its borrowing limits from the capital markets in line with the Public Finance Management Act and the Broadcasting Act,” she added.
The SABC has had a net loss of R622-million in this financial year, however, Mokonyane says the loss is “significant progress” compared to a R977-million loss in the 2016/2017 financial year.
The minister indicated they would use the increased amount to pay creditors, including independent producers, Sentech and the South African Football Association.
She said a turnaround task team had been put together, comprising the department of communication, national treasury and t
he SABC, with treasury assigning a turnaround specialist to look into the strategy. She said the strategy was presented to her on Tuesday for her consideration.
“Such a strategy will provide a holistic assessment of the broadcaster and identify means and ways to guarantee the future sustainability of the SABC,” she said.
“We do believe that we have the right skills in the board and management to drive a robust turnaround strategy that will lead the broadcaster on a new path towards a public broadcaster that embodies sound corporate and financial management, embraces new technologies and digitisation, and is geared towards increasing revenue and diversifying income streams,” Mokonyane said.
“We do believe that we have the right skills in the board and management to drive a robust turnaround strategy that will lead the broadcaster on a new path towards a public broadcaster that embodies sound corporate and financial management, embraces new technologies and digitisation, and is geared towards increasing revenue and diversifying income streams,” she said.
Under the shameful leadership of ex-chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the public broadcaster faced huge financial losses and failed to comply with PFMA, amongst others.
