By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
South Africa’s public
broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), has accredited
more than 1,600 staff members to cover results centres nationwide as it prepares for comprehensive television, radio, and online coverage of this week’s
local government elections.
Minister of Communications
and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi disclosed this after visiting the
Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) national results operation centre
(ROC), where SABC leadership briefed him on preparations for the nationwide
election coverage.
The broadcaster, which is
the official broadcast partner of the IEC, will deploy hundreds of journalists,
technical staff and support teams to provide coverage of developments across
the country, coordinated through its operations base at the ROC.
Malatsi said the SABC plays
an integral role in informing and educating citizens about voting, party
propositions and the election results that will shape local government for the
next five years.
The minister said SABC
leadership had taken him through the scale of preparations for wall-to-wall
coverage across television, radio and online platforms.
He said the broadcaster's
teams would provide “world-class, balanced reporting and coverage of nationwide
developments” during the elections.
Malatsi urged South Africans
to participate in the electoral process, saying: “I urge all South Africans to
head to the polls on Wednesday.”
