Truth about SABC car radio licences

A “media statement” about the introduction of a supposed SABC “Car Radio licence” doing the rounds on Twitter in South Africa on Monday is fake.

The “statement” — which has been shared by prominent figures such as Brenthurst Wealth financial advisor Magnus Heystek — claims to come from SABC acting corporate affairs and marketing executive Mmoni Seapolelo.

It includes the SABC’s official logo as a letterhead and Seapolelo’s contact details at the bottom. The style and formatting are also similar to past official SABC statements.

However, Seapolelo has confirmed to MyBroadband that the statement is a fabrication.

“This is not [from] us. Thanks for the alert,” she told us in a WhatsApp chat.

The broadcaster subsequently posted a message on its Twitter profile warning South Africans that the communication was fake.

The fake statement said the SABC was introducing a licence for car radios at an annual fee of R401, making it R136 more expensive than a TV licence.

“Over the years, we as the SABC have seen a dramatic decline in TV license revenue due to streaming services like Netflix,” it reads. “We as the SABC, therefore, had to look at new revenue streams.”

The statement also refers to “section 69 of the telecommunications act of 1996”, which it claimed states that all South Africans who use motor vehicles with radios are required to always carry a car radio licence with them.

It goes on to state that the “new section” of the Telecommunications Act empowered the South African Police Service and local law enforcement agencies to conduct “law enforcement duties”, presumably relating to the car radio licence.

“Failure to product [sic] a valid car radio licence when instructed by a law enforcement official at a roadblock or in any other situation when requested to do so can result in a fine of up to R750 or up to 90 days in jail,” it warns.

Aside from being repealed, Section 69 of the Telecommunications Act 103 of 1996 does not make mention of this requirement.

The Telecommunications Act deals with issues relating to the telecoms industry — such as the provision of mobile and fixed Internet services.

The Broadcasting Act deals with licencing related to broadcasting services such as television and radio.

In addition to citing a defunct and irrelevant piece of legislation, the creator had made a myriad of spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as inconsistencies in capitalisation.

That suggested it was not concocted by a communications professional like Seapolelo.

Fortunately, the fact that the creator did not provide their own payment channel, like banking details, suggested it was probably done as a joke rather than a malicious attempt to scam people out of money.

South Africans have increasingly mocked the public broadcaster for its attempts to have TV licences as a requirement for a range of other devices — including smartphones, laptops, and DStv decoders.

That comes as the broadcaster has struggled with TV licence compliance, with less than one in every five licence holders paying their fee in the 2022/2023 financial year.

South Africa does not currently require a licence for consumer AM/FM radios, only for radio stations and Ham Radio operators.

The Broadcasting Act of 1999 makes provision for a TV licence that is required for equipment capable of receiving television broadcasting signals.

The SABC explains in an FAQ on its website that any person or entity that has in its possession or uses a TV set must have a TV licence.

“A licence remains payable, irrespective of whether a television set in one’s possession is used or not,” the SABC said.

A TV set is defined as any device designed or adapted to receive a broadcast television signal, including a PC fitted with a TV tuner card, or a videocassette recorder (VCR) connected to a monitor or TV screen.

The SABC’s latest annual reminder notice for TV licence holders to pay their fee included an additional sentence stating that tuner-less computer monitors that can be connected to television receiving equipment also qualified as a TV set.

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Truth about SABC car radio licences