Pretoria - The community of AmaNdebele have convened outside the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) Hatfield offices decrying the relocation of the Ikwekwezi FM’s studio and personnel to its Auckland Park offices in Johannesburg.
Last month the SABC Chief Operations Officer, Ian Plaatjes, confirmed that the decision to move the Ikwekwezi studio and personnel to Johannesburg had been taken as a business decision aimed at cutting costs.
Plaatjes stressed that they were not closing the radio station down as they still had growth plans for it, and in fact, the decision to move the studio to their Auckland Park offices would not change the strategy of the radio station at all.
Grootie Sithole one of the organisers of the gathering said they had been informed of the move to Johannesburg however the community of amaNdebele were not happy with the decision.
Instead, he said they would prefer for the studio to be moved to KwaMhlanga or Groblersdal in the Sekhukhune District of Limpopo.
“They’re telling us that they have to pay R1 million every month to rent the offices in Hatfield because they want to cut costs but why did they not consider other areas. If they continue with this move we are going to make sure that all AmaNdebele people cease to listen to the radio station.”
Simon Mahlangu, the senior traditional leader in Gauteng said the problem that existed in the country was the fact that there was no respect or consideration for the growth of the culture.
Mahlangu said the management of the SABC was trying to push them away from their own culture and the best interests of the people hence they were taking all the decisions unilaterally.
Pretoria News