Communication a huge issue for ANC
SIYABONGA Cwele, the telecommunications and postal services minister, said this week in parliament that there was no confusion in the ANC. He was trying to ward off criticism of President Jacob Zuma’s decision to split the department of communications in two. The move created Cwele’s department and a new Communications Department under minister Faith Muthambi.
Despite efforts to paint a picture of coherence, it’s clear that there is disorder behind the scenes and an enormous amount of work — legal, regulatory and otherwise —still has to be done to deal with the split.
“The purpose of reconfiguring the state was to ensure a focused approach by this new department [telecoms and postal services] so we can achieve the objectives we have set out [under] the National Development Plan,” said Cwele.
The opposition was having none of it. DA MP Marian Shinn said the former department of communications was split on a presidential “whim”— in essence, to create a new “department of
We are one national government, which acts collectively
propaganda” housing the SABC, the government’s communication arm, the GCIS, and communications regulator Icasa — and that the rapid progress made under former communications minister Yunus Carrim had “hit a brick wall”.
Cwele tried this week to assure industry that progress would soon be made on migrating from analogue to digital terrestrial television. His promises were met with scepticism. He said he planned to publish the government’s final policy on digital migration by the end of the month. He hasn’t indicated how he will placate MultiChoice and e.tv, which remain at loggerheads over whether the set-top boxes that consumers will need to receive digital TV should use a control system.
MultiChoice may sue the government unless there is a dramatic policy reversal on the control system, which seems unlikely. The pay-TV operator believes that including an encryption system in the set-top boxes that the government intends subsidising for millions of indigent households will amount to unfair competition because, it claims, it will allow new pay-TV players to enter the market without the usual high upfront costs.
The company rejected a draft policy, crafted by Carrim and approved by the cabinet in December, that sought to create a middle ground. An ugly war of words then erupted with the former minister.
Carrim was not successful in his mediation efforts, so Cwele may have no choice but to play his hand and appeal to the court of public opinion in an effort to fend off legal action. If he’s not successful, the danger is that South Africa’s digital migration project will again be derailed.
The economic implications of a further delay are enormous. And it could take years longer to extend broadband to more South Africans. There’s also the ignominy of failing to honour South Africa’s pledge to the International Telecommunication Union to complete digital migration by the middle of next year.
“The June 2015 deadline looms before us and we dare not let our people down,” Cwele told MPs this week. If he believes there is any chance of South Africa meeting the deadline at this late stage, he has been misinformed. It’s not going to happen in the time available. But he’s right to want to inject a new sense of urgency into the process.
South Africans can only hope that the president’s decision to split the department of communications isn’t going to detract from this and other crucial projects. Cwele’s colleague, Muthambi, has created a task team to advise her on a range of issues, including — wait for it — digital migration. There is a risk of a turf war between the two departments.
“Who will direct digital migration? It will be the ANC government, because as the ANC government we act collectively,” Cwele told disbelieving opposition MPs. “We are not a federal party. We are one national government, which acts collectively.” Let’s see. McLeod edits TechCentral.co.za. Find him on Twitter @mcleodd