Katlego Sekhu

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has apologised for the non-broadcast of its Afrikaans television news bulletin over the past weekend, blaming the incident on a scheduling error.
This comes after both the Democratic Alliance (DA) and lobby group AfriForum demanded urgent clarity on the disappearance of the bulletin, raising concerns that the service may have been discontinued or deprioritised.
DA national spokesperson Willie Aucamp described the segment as “an essential service” and insisted on immediate answers, while AfriForum sent a formal letter to the SABC’s leadership requesting an explanation.
In an official statement, the SABC confirmed that the bulletin did not air in its regular time slot on Saturday and Sunday, attributing the disruption to internal oversight. Management has launched consequence management processes to address the issue.
“There is no plan or decision to discontinue or deprioritise Afrikaans news,” the public broadcaster assured. “The Afrikaans television news bulletin continues to air as scheduled from Monday to Friday, and the weekend bulletin will also continue in its regular time slot going forward.”
The SABC stressed that Afrikaans remains an important part of its public broadcasting mandate alongside all other South African languages.
It also revealed that it is working on a broader content and scheduling strategy aimed at strengthening its language offering, including Afrikaans, as part of its new financial year’s content plans.
“We acknowledge the deep concern this weekend’s error has caused, particularly within Afrikaans-speaking communities. We extend our sincere and heartfelt apology to the South African public, and especially to those who felt aggrieved by this disruption,” the statement concluded.
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