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The SABC is tailoring its content around five talented producers based on unsolicited proposals, but it’s not necessarily good news for the rest of the folks in the business, writes Jacqueline Setai
The SABC recently announced that it has roped in some of the hottest names in the entertainment industry – Somizi Mhlongo, Khanyi Mbau, Sophie Ndaba, Winnie Mashaba and Arthur Mafokate.
Unsolicited proposals submitted to the broadcaster, either by these individuals or featuring them, have been given the green light.
Mhlongo and Mbau’s first successful gig was hosting the SA Music Awards in May and they passed with flying colours.
Mafokate’s new entertainment show is launching in July.
Ndaba and Mashaba’s new company, under the mentorship of Generations producer Mfundi Vundla, is working on a new drama series.
While this is great for these artists, it’s not great for the independent production industry because of the broadcaster’s decision to scrap requests for proposals (RFPs) and only commission unsolicited proposals.
The RFP process is how the SABC has bought all its local content (except news and sport) since the late 1990s.
Done through published briefs, the process was open and allowed producers to pitch to produce shows on the SABC’s channels.
RFP book values ranged from between R600 million (in 2014) and R130 million (in 2011). No RFPs means a loss of income for hundreds of production companies dependent on the SABC for their livelihoods.
The black production houses will be the hardest hit because mainly black employees have to support close and extended families. In the absence of an open tender process, how will these people survive?
And as a state-owned company, how can the SABC circumvent a public tender process? As per Treasury regulations, the SABC must comply with the Public Finance Management Act when purchasing from suppliers.
The entire point of its RFP process was to have a transparent tender process, open to all creatives. In the absence of an RFP process, can any of these recent commission deals be regarded as open, transparent and fair?
Instead of an open call, the SABC will now only consider unsolicited proposals and ideas pitched to its chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
If the producers are inexperienced, the broadcaster will develop them, and will produce these shows through an internal production.
An internal production unit was tried at the SABC before; in fact that is how it produced all its content throughout the 80s and 90s.
It was closed because of cost constraints and because the shows produced by individuals within the broadcaster did not reflect the real experiences of thousands of citizens – a lot of the shows were cheap and nasty.
The SABC should publically announce when proposals are being accepted, evaluated, who the evaluators are, what scoring system is being used, how black producers will benefit and when pitches are taking place. In other words, bring back the RFPs.
