Bogus radio station milk FTLM in alleged dodgy dealings

BURGERSFORT

The Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality (FTLM) is yet to comment on allegations that they have allegedly  used around R20 million in dealings with an unregistered media house.

 These reports surfaced on social media last week, alleging the institution has been paying between R50 000- R60 000 for less than 10 minutes video clips.

The radio station which is conducting business with the FTLM is allegedly not registered with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) or has no operating license.

Media houses operating in South Africa without an ICASA license face legal consequences, including being deemed non-compliant and potentially appearing before the Complaints and Compliance Committee (CCC) for a hearing. Continued non-compliance can result in fines or other penalties, and the authority can take action to cease their operations, such as issuing an order to wind up their affairs and cease broadcasting services.

The alleged inflated prizes are for services rendered on published advertisements, notices as well as announcements by the FTLM.

 Videos posted on social media sites, mostly Facebook and TikTok  between 2022 and 2025 allegedly cost an inflated price of between R50 000- R60 000. This is despite the municipality having its own social media sites. 
According to insiders, the bogus radio station will inflate the prizes, with alleged kickbacks going to some of the municipal officials.

This dodgy dealings have led to several media companies unable to receive their payments from the FTLM, and treated as sacrificial lambs by the FTLM authorities. An insider at the FTLM, said responsible  officials seem reluctant to act on this  alleged corruption and maladministration.

The media house involved in this dealings, is also allegedly not registered with the National Treasury which seem to be required for legitimate operation and for a company to do business with a business such as the Fetakgomo Tubatse local municipality.

Not only the media house benefits from the alleged corruption and incompetence  at the FTLM, another source within the municipality alleged that a company hired as a communication unit broker was allegedly hired despite not meeting prescribed requirements.

The alleged company allegedly double the prizes charged by other  media houses for services rendered to the FTLM with allegations of kickbacks to senior officials. 

Queries related to these allegations were forwarded to the FTLM, but no responses were available at the time of going to press.

This publication will publish the responses once received.