SABC acting group CEO Nomsa Philiso said it is “not normal practice” to receive payment for interviews, especially on entertainment shows.
This was after a preliminary investigation confirmed that the department of social development paid for an interview featuring Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini and her spokeswoman Lumka Oliphant.
The two were guests on Real Talk with Anele on 7 December.
“From what my team tells me, there was a payment,” Philiso told News24.
She promised to look into the details of what transpired in order to get to the bottom of the matter.
The interview was said to have lasted two hours and came with a hefty R149 000 price tag.
However, Oliphant came to the defence of the SABC and her department. She said the department buys space in different magazines and print media and they choose where and when to place them.
“Our responsibility is to provide content and sometimes artwork and interviewees. The minister is the face of the department and its agencies,” said Oliphant.
SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago told Daily Sun: “The matter is with the board. Once they are done with the investigations, we will communicate our findings.”
