mce_keep=”true”He said the contract had been finalised, but still needed to be signed – by “specific people”.
“I think it will be done this week,” Kganyago said.
According to the SABC viewers would not be affected as the soapie was filmed “four to six weeks in advance”.
Kganyago denied that a quarrel about money had caused the delay in signing the contract, as did Harrie Linders, managing director of Endemol SA.
Kganyago said negotiations had followed “the normal process”.
Linders told TheMediaOnline he had halted production last week as he had by last week Tuesday night’s episode fulfilled his obligations in terms of the existing 3-year contract.
He said he received the new contract from the SABC this morning (Monday). It had been signed by Endemol SA and sent back to the SABC to be signed.
“I expect to have it on my desk by tomorrow (Tuesday) at the latest,” he said. Filming would in that case resume on Wednesday.
Linders said because they were “almost” five working days ahead of schedule, they would in effect not be behind schedule as a result of the contract issue. Because the actors were paid per episode, and fewer episodes would not be filmed, their salaries would also not be affected, he said.
The SABC3 soapie has, according to Endemol SA’s website, been on air since 1998.
■At 13:00 on Tuesday, 29 January, Linders said he had heard the contract had been signed the same morning at the SABC, but he had not yet received a copy. He said the actors were on stand-by to possibly resume filming on Wednesday.
