Jacob Zuma launches SABC 24-hour news channel

South Africa’s new 24-hour television news channel from public broadcaster SABC has been officially launched by President Jacob Zuma.

Speaking from the Johannesburg headquarters of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Zuma said the new channel  will help forward the constitutional rights of the country’s citizens.

Communications Minister Yunus Carrim added that although the news channel would be carried on South African satellite pay-TV platform DStv, the public broadcaster would remain independent.

“The SABC must serve all of our people. The SABC is not meant to be elite … It is the responsibility of the SABC to reduce the [information] divide,” Carrim was quoted as saying by Biz-Community.
While some have reservations about the channel’s financial sustainability, he added that “such channels are a risk all over the world,” reported SouthAfrica.info.

President Zuma added that he hoped the 24-hour news channel would showcase what “this beautiful country has achieved in recent years”.

The channel is expected to reach around 20 million viewers in Africa.