Telkom to lead broadband roll-out
THE GOVERNMENT has identified Telkom as the leading agency in the roll-out of broadband in the country to achieve full connectivity in the next five years.
Telecoms and Postal Services Minister Siyabonga Cwele told the media in Parliament, ahead of his budget vote yesterday, that the designation of Telkom as the leading agency was based on its large footprint in the country.
He said Telkom had an 86 percent footprint in broadband countrywide.
Cwele said once all legislative and legal processes had been finalised, Telkom would be formally appointed by the government as the leading agency to roll out broadband.
In his State of the Nation address, President Jacob Zuma said they had set a target of 2020 for full connectivity across the country.
In his Budget speech, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene allocated R1.2 billion for the broadband roll-out.
Cwele would not give a figure of the slice that would be taken up by Telkom.
However, he said Broadband Infraco, despite its serious cash flow problems, would be the other agency to participate in this project.
The private sector would also be allowed to participate in the roll-out of broadband, he added.
In another development, Cwele confirmed that the new board of the SA Post Office would be appointed in the coming weeks, while he had extended the contract of the administrator, Simo Lushaba, until July.
Cwele said the new board would have to implement the turnaround plan for the Post Office by appointing new managers, who would implement the strategy.
The Post Office has been operating without a board since December after its non-executive directors resigned. This led to Cwele to appoint Lushaba as the administrator.
While Lushaba keeps the company running, Cwele will start identifying people to serve on the board.
He said the appointment of the new board was a priority. They were looking at people who would drive the company and ensure its proper governance and financial viability.
He said he had the names of people in mind, but he would not disclose these.
The Post Office is projecting a loss of R1.2 billion for the financial year to March, following a poor financial performance and the protracted labour dispute last year.
Mail volumes have been declining over the past few years due to the growth of the ICT sector and the use of other services by consumers. The ministry might make a public statement about the foreign exchange investigation in time, Nene said. Hlengani Mathebula, a spokesman for the Reserve Bank, did not answer calls to his phone.
After a global currency-rigging probe, six of the world’s biggest banks are paying $5.8 billion (R69bn) in settlements with the US Justice Department that were announced on Wednesday.
The investigation had not reached South Africa until this week, when the Competition Commission said it wanted to send a “clear message” and had evidence traders dealing in the rand had been fixing prices in relation to bids, offers and bid-offer spreads.
At 5pm, the rand, which has dropped 12 percent against the dollar in the past year, was bid at R11.8109, 5.12c stronger than at the same time on Wednesday. – Bloomberg