The changes and additions include the extension of Swati and Ndebele News; Kids News in Zulu, Xhosa, Swati and Ndebele languages; Modise Ka9 hosted by veteran Tim Modise changed into Lekgotleng Le Modise which is also moving to Monday nights between 8pm and 8.30pm; an online French News; and weekend radio current affairs shows for people living in the rural areas and tuning into Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) radio stations.
The project, which starts Monday next week, has cost R45 million, SABC News and Current Affairs Managing Director, Snuki Zikalala, said.
Addressing the audience, Zikalala said: "To communicate effectively when it counts, you need to be freed to do so. SABC News assures information is disseminated and effected when it counts.
"These changes are meant to ensure that no language or culture is excluded, so we can truly claim to deliver news to all South Africans, young and old, in their language of choice. Through our cohesive network of 20 conventional points of presence, we reach 24 million adult South Africans in 13 languages across nine provinces."
A new programme called Kids News is being introduced on SABC 1. It replaces Kids News Room currently running on SABC 2 and is set to target children aged between eight and 12. Asked about the purpose of the programme, Zikalala replied: "We need to bring news to the young ones in a manner that it is free from foul language and other contents that may impact negatively on their education and upbringing.
"This new perspective is also set to conscientise their understanding about what is going about around them, for instance why do we have municipal elections, councillors, wards, mayors and so on. This is a very interesting and informative package, relevant to children in our ever-evolving African society."
Furthermore, the current format of Swati and Ndebele News lasting only 10 minutes and showing at 5pm on SABC 1 will, from now, have a full bulletin Monday to Friday from 5pm to 5.30pm, with each language being separately presented on alternate weekdays. Asked to comment on this adjustment, Zikalala said: "As the largest broadcasting organisation on the continent, we have the technical and skills capacity to bring all South Africans news from around their town, province and nation in their chosen language."
The French News will be available online on the website Sabcnews.com portal and will cover news, current affairs and programmes such as 'La Semaine' en 'Afrique' (Africa this week), 'Table Ronde' (Round Table), and 'La Revue de la Presse' (Africa Press Review). He said that negotiations will soon begin to bring these shows on DStv. "This will firmly position SABC News as Africa's news leader, to be on all the broadcast platforms in the most spoken Latin language on the continent," he added.
However, these adjustments have come amid intense pressure the public broadcaster is facing from certain political quarters, which accuse it of favouritism and bias. They claim that the SABC - which is supposed to be an independent organisation - is actually promoting the interests of the ruling party and overlooking other political affiliations.
But SABC Group CEO, Advocate Dali Mpofu, furiously refutes the allegations, calling them baseless and untrue. He told Bizcommunity.com: "There is no truth in whatever they are saying. If indeed they have proof, I challenge them to come forward and sustain their claims. We are trying as much as we can to accommodate each group and I have the records to prove that.
"We are unfazed by this negative criticism and we are not going to be distracted by such unfounded allegations. Instead, we are proving what we are worth through the field of play. Our primary goal is to continue engaging with all stakeholders and keep improving on areas where we have weaknesses and turning them into strengths. Professionalising our services through training our staff and updating our technology is what matters the most."
